Threat Actor

Turla

Also known as: Turla, IRON HUNTER, Group 88, Waterbug, WhiteBear, Snake, Krypton, Venomous Bear, Secret Blizzard, BELUGASTURGEON

[Turla](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0010) is a cyber espionage threat group that has been attributed to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB). They have compromised victims in over 50 countries since at least 2004, spanning a range of industries including government, embassies, military, education, research and pharmaceutical companies. [Turla](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0010) is known for conducting watering hole and spearphishing campaigns, and leveraging in-house tools and malware, such as [Uroburos](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0022).(Citation: Kaspersky Turla)(Citation: ESET Gazer Aug 2017)(Citation: CrowdStrike VENOMOUS BEAR)(Citation: ESET Turla Mosquito Jan 2018)(Citation: Joint Cybersecurity Advisory AA23-129A Snake Malware May 2023)

50
Techniques
31
Software

Properties

stix_id
intrusion-set--7a19ecb1-3c65-4de3-a230-993516aed6a6
signal_observed_at
2026-09-11T17:55:00+00:00
type
intrusion-set

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques (50)

Archive via Utility

Adversaries may use utilities to compress and/or encrypt collected data prior to exfiltration. Many utilities include functionalities to compress, enc

Bidirectional Communication

Adversaries may use an existing, legitimate external Web service as a means for sending commands to and receiving output from a compromised system ove

Brute Force

Adversaries may use brute force techniques to gain access to accounts when passwords are unknown or when password hashes are obtained.(Citation: Trend

Code Signing Policy Modification

Adversaries may modify code signing policies to enable execution of unsigned or self-signed code. Code signing provides a level of authenticity on a p

Command Obfuscation

Adversaries may obfuscate content during command execution to impede detection. Command-line obfuscation is a method of making strings and patterns wi

Create Process with Token

Adversaries may create a new process with an existing token to escalate privileges and bypass access controls. Processes can be created with the token

Data from Local System

Adversaries may search local system sources, such as file systems, configuration files, local databases, virtual machine files, or process memory, to

Data from Removable Media

Adversaries may search connected removable media on computers they have compromised to find files of interest. Sensitive data can be collected from an

Databases

Adversaries may leverage databases to mine valuable information. These databases may be hosted on-premises or in the cloud (both in platform-as-a-serv

Deobfuscate/Decode Files or Information

Adversaries may use [Obfuscated Files or Information](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1027) to hide artifacts of an intrusion from analysis. They

Disable or Modify Tools

Adversaries may modify and/or disable security tools to avoid possible detection of their malware/tools and activities. This may take many forms, such

Disable or Modify Tools

Adversaries may disable, degrade, or tamper with security tools or applications (e.g., endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools, intrusion detectio

Domain Account

Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of domain accounts. This information can help adversaries determine which domain accounts exist to aid in fol

Domain Groups

Adversaries may attempt to find domain-level groups and permission settings. The knowledge of domain-level permission groups can help adversaries dete

Drive-by Compromise

Adversaries may gain access to a system through a user visiting a website over the normal course of browsing. Multiple ways of delivering exploit code

Dynamic-link Library Injection

Adversaries may inject dynamic-link libraries (DLLs) into processes in order to evade process-based defenses as well as possibly elevate privileges. D

Exfiltration to Cloud Storage

Adversaries may exfiltrate data to a cloud storage service rather than over their primary command and control channel. Cloud storage services allow fo

Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges. Exploitation of a software vulnerability occurs when an adversar

File and Directory Discovery

Adversaries may enumerate files and directories or may search in specific locations of a host or network share for certain information within a file s

File/Path Exclusions

Adversaries may attempt to hide their file-based artifacts by writing them to specific folders or file names excluded from antivirus (AV) scanning and

Fileless Storage

Adversaries may store data in "fileless" formats to conceal malicious activity from defenses. Fileless storage can be broadly defined as any format ot

Group Policy Discovery

Adversaries may gather information on Group Policy settings to identify paths for privilege escalation, security measures applied within a domain, and

Indicator Removal from Tools

Adversaries may remove indicators from tools if they believe their malicious tool was detected, quarantined, or otherwise curtailed. They can modify t

Ingress Tool Transfer

Adversaries may transfer tools or other files from an external system into a compromised environment. Tools or files may be copied from an external ad

Internal Proxy

Adversaries may use an internal proxy to direct command and control traffic between two or more systems in a compromised environment. Many tools exist

Internet Connection Discovery

Adversaries may check for Internet connectivity on compromised systems. This may be performed during automated discovery and can be accomplished in nu

JavaScript

Adversaries may abuse various implementations of JavaScript for execution. JavaScript (JS) is a platform-independent scripting language (compiled just

Lateral Tool Transfer

Adversaries may transfer tools or other files between systems in a compromised environment. Once brought into the victim environment (i.e., [Ingress T

Local Account

Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of local system accounts. This information can help adversaries determine which local accounts exist on a sys

Local Accounts

Adversaries may obtain and abuse credentials of a local account as a means of gaining Initial Access, Persistence, Privilege Escalation, or Defense Ev

Software & Tools (31)

Arp [tool]

[Arp](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0099) displays and modifies information about a system's Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) cache. (Citation:

Carbon [malware]

[Carbon](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0335) is a sophisticated, second-stage backdoor and framework that can be used to steal sensitive informat

ComRAT [malware]

[ComRAT](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0126) is a second stage implant suspected of being a descendant of [Agent.btz](https://attack.mitre.org/so

Crutch [malware]

[Crutch](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0538) is a backdoor designed for document theft that has been used by [Turla](https://attack.mitre.org/gro

Empire [tool]

[Empire](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0363) is an open-source, cross-platform remote administration and post-exploitation framework that is publ

Epic [malware]

[Epic](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0091) is a backdoor that has been used by [Turla](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0010). (Citation: Kaspers

Gazer [malware]

[Gazer](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0168) is a backdoor used by [Turla](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0010) since at least 2016. (Citation:

HyperStack [malware]

[HyperStack](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0537) is a RPC-based backdoor used by [Turla](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0010) since at least 20

IronNetInjector [tool]

[IronNetInjector](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0581) is a [Turla](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0010) toolchain that utilizes scripts from th

KOPILUWAK [malware]

[KOPILUWAK](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S1075) is a JavaScript-based reconnaissance tool that has been used for victim profiling and C2 since at

Kazuar [malware]

[Kazuar](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0265) is a fully featured, multi-platform backdoor Trojan written using the Microsoft .NET framework. (Cit

LightNeuron [malware]

[LightNeuron](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0395) is a sophisticated backdoor that has targeted Microsoft Exchange servers since at least 2014. [

LunarLoader [malware]

[LunarLoader](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S1143) is the loader component for the [LunarWeb](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S1141) and [LunarM

LunarMail [malware]

[LunarMail](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S1142) is a backdoor that has been used by [Turla](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0010) since at least

LunarWeb [malware]

[LunarWeb](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S1141) is a backdoor that has been used by [Turla](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0010) since at least

MimiKatz [malware]

[Mimikatz](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0002) is a credential dumper capable of obtaining plaintext Windows account logins and passwords, along

Mimikatz [tool]

[Mimikatz](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0002) is a credential dumper capable of obtaining plaintext Windows account logins and passwords, along

Mosquito [malware]

[Mosquito](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0256) is a Win32 backdoor that has been used by [Turla](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0010). [Mosquit

NBTscan [tool]

[NBTscan](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0590) is an open source tool that has been used by state groups to conduct internal reconnaissance within

Net [tool]

The [Net](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0039) utility is a component of the Windows operating system. It is used in command-line operations for c

Penquin [malware]

[Penquin](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0587) is a remote access trojan (RAT) with multiple versions used by [Turla](https://attack.mitre.org/gro

PowerStallion [malware]

[PowerStallion](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0393) is a lightweight [PowerShell](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1059/001) backdoor used by

PsExec [tool]

[PsExec](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0029) is a free Microsoft tool that can be used to execute a program on another computer. It is used by IT

Reg [tool]

[Reg](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0075) is a Windows utility used to interact with the Windows Registry. It can be used at the command-line int

Systeminfo [tool]

[Systeminfo](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0096) is a Windows utility that can be used to gather detailed information about a computer. (Citation

Tasklist [tool]

The [Tasklist](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0057) utility displays a list of applications and services with their Process IDs (PID) for all task

TinyTurla [malware]

[TinyTurla](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0668) is a backdoor that has been used by [Turla](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0010) against target

Uroburos [malware]

[Uroburos](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0022) is a sophisticated cyber espionage tool written in C that has been used by units within Russia's F

certutil [tool]

[certutil](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0160) is a command-line utility that can be used to obtain certificate authority information and configu

nbtstat [tool]

[nbtstat](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0102) is a utility used to troubleshoot NetBIOS name resolution. (Citation: TechNet Nbtstat)

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