THREATOPS Actor Dossier
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MuddyWater

G00694 reports
aliases · MuddyWater · Earth Vetala · MERCURY · Static Kitten · Seedworm · TEMP.Zagros · Mango Sandstorm · TA450 · MuddyKrill
Export dossier:
4
Reports
9
Techniques
8
Tactics
7
Countries
78%
Hunt coverage
9
Aliases

Analyst assessment — key judgments

  • Signature techniques: T1588.006 (Vulnerabilities), T1589.001 (Credentials), T1069.001 (Local Groups).
  • Primary targeting: IR, US, KP, KR.
  • Activity accelerating: 3 report(s) in last 30d vs 1 prior (+200%).
  • Recent movement: 3 new technique(s), 26 new infrastructure indicator(s) in the last 30 days.
  • Hunt coverage 78% of 9 observed techniques (2 gap(s)).
  • Assessment confidence: medium (60).

Activity & trend

AcceleratingLast 30d: 3 vs 1 prior (+200%)· first reported 2026-06-08 · last 2026-07-14
1
7d
3
30d
4
90d
4
All
0.3
Rpts/wk
Reporting timeline · 12 months

Movement — last 30 days

New techniques
T1069.001T1027.003T1001.002
Targeting gained
ILKPKR
Targeting lost
NLRU
New infrastructure
37e123bd7998af4eae32718ce254776f36365a8092cae0ad7f98f51a14bcc0ee05e372ebdc29ea965dc08bda6919a57a85e5f38b857985fa71529ca3a4aa217def4c38f4ecacdf47b1cd687f60cc74c1b630c96d3763182533d4fb9b614134382bd644cb8e9425c0b46eeb516610ae913d13f2b3f44a02300a3663648a46771a5a5423ad01e91a4e7ba825595394d3b220de4695f731647e3a70545f951a891230cb4679c4b8599eeb3d63a551716475c6332bdc2cb1ad3b22db8e3666ea138fee88034a87a87cf47d586fb7f94182a8e2a0e53c7e4deb898066da02541b1f417b9e42078c3355693a8a492b6a760488

Vulnerabilities in this actor's reporting · 4

Overview

Analyst triage
Intelligence summary

MuddyWater is a cyber espionage group assessed to be a subordinate element within Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).(Citation: CYBERCOM Iranian Intel Cyber January 2022) Since at least 2017, MuddyWater has targeted a range of government and private organizations across sectors, including telecommunications, local government, finance, defense, and oil and natural gas organizations, in the Middle East (specifically the UAE and Saudi Arabia), Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. MuddyWater has reused domains dating back to October 2025, and has a preference for NameCheap and Hosterdaddy Private Limited (AS136557). In late 2025 and early 2026, MuddyWater used commercial satellite internet (i.e., Starlink) for command and control (C2) communication. (Citation: FalconFeeds_Iran_Mar2026)(Citation: Huntio_IranInfra_Mar2026)(Citation: Unit 42 MuddyWater Nov 2017)(Citation: Symantec MuddyWater Dec 2018)(Citation: ClearSky MuddyWater Nov 2018)(Citation: ClearSky MuddyWater June 2019)(Citation: Reaqta MuddyWater November 2017)(Citation: DHS CISA AA22-055A MuddyWater February 2022)(Citation: Talos MuddyWater Jan 2022)(Citation: NaumaanProofpoint_GlobalClickFix_April2025)(Citation: ESET_MuddyWater_Dec2025)(Citation: SymantecCarbonBlack_Seedworm_Mar2026)

Top co-occurring indicators
    Aliases & naming
      Targeting · countries
        Targeting · named victims

          ATT&CK technique matrix

          Coverage vs hunt library:
          Hunt-coverage gaps — prioritized

            Top techniques by observation

            Threat catalogue · engineering roadmap0

            Flagged detection-engineering queue

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              Infrastructure

              IOC type mix
              Tooling / malware families
                Tracked infrastructure

                Relationships

                Related actors (behavioral cluster)
                  Attributed malware
                  Campaigns
                  No behavioral cluster, attributed malware, or campaigns recorded for this actor yet.

                  Activity

                  30-day mention timeline
                  Recent reporting
                  TitleSourceSeverityCollected