SYMBOLCOMMON_NAMEaka. SYNONYMS

Fox Kitten  (Back to overview)

aka: PIONEER KITTEN, PARISITE, UNC757

PIONEER KITTEN is an Iran-based adversary that has been active since at least 2017 and has a suspected nexus to the Iranian government. This adversary appears to be primarily focused on gaining and maintaining access to entities possessing sensitive information of likely intelligence interest to the Iranian government. According to DRAGOS, they also targeted ICS-related entities using known VPN vulnerabilities. They are widely known to use open source penetration testing tools for reconnaissance and to establish encrypted communications.


Associated Families

There are currently no families associated with this actor.


References
2020-09-15US-CERTUS-CERT
@online{uscert:20200915:alert:13d0ab3, author = {US-CERT}, title = {{Alert (AA20-259A): Iran-Based Threat Actor Exploits VPN Vulnerabilities}}, date = {2020-09-15}, organization = {US-CERT}, url = {https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/alerts/aa20-259a}, language = {English}, urldate = {2020-09-16} } Alert (AA20-259A): Iran-Based Threat Actor Exploits VPN Vulnerabilities
CHINACHOPPER Fox Kitten
2020-09-01ZDNetCatalin Cimpanu
@online{cimpanu:20200901:iranian:5f8dd6c, author = {Catalin Cimpanu}, title = {{Iranian hackers are selling access to compromised companies on an underground forum}}, date = {2020-09-01}, organization = {ZDNet}, url = {https://www.zdnet.com/article/iranian-hackers-are-selling-access-to-compromised-companies-on-an-underground-forum}, language = {English}, urldate = {2020-09-18} } Iranian hackers are selling access to compromised companies on an underground forum
Fox Kitten
2020-08-31CrowdStrikeAlex Orleans
@online{orleans:20200831:who:9513ae1, author = {Alex Orleans}, title = {{Who Is PIONEER KITTEN?}}, date = {2020-08-31}, organization = {CrowdStrike}, url = {https://www.crowdstrike.com/blog/who-is-pioneer-kitten}, language = {English}, urldate = {2020-09-18} } Who Is PIONEER KITTEN?
Fox Kitten
2020-08-10ZDNetCatalin Cimpanu
@online{cimpanu:20200810:fbi:10c4512, author = {Catalin Cimpanu}, title = {{FBI says an Iranian hacking group is attacking F5 networking devices}}, date = {2020-08-10}, organization = {ZDNet}, url = {https://www.zdnet.com/article/fbi-says-an-iranian-hacking-group-is-attacking-f5-networking-devices}, language = {English}, urldate = {2020-09-18} } FBI says an Iranian hacking group is attacking F5 networking devices
SSHNET Fox Kitten
2020-02-24DragosDragos
@techreport{dragos:20200224:2019:b583cc8, author = {Dragos}, title = {{2019 Year In Review: The ICS Landscape and Threat Actviity Groups}}, date = {2020-02-24}, institution = {Dragos}, url = {https://www.dragos.com/wp-content/uploads/The-ICS-Threat-Landscape.pdf}, language = {English}, urldate = {2020-09-18} } 2019 Year In Review: The ICS Landscape and Threat Actviity Groups
Fox Kitten
2020-02-16ClearSkyClearSky Research Team
@techreport{team:20200216:fox:23f1677, author = {ClearSky Research Team}, title = {{Fox Kitten Campaign: Widespread Iranian Espionage-Offensive Campaign}}, date = {2020-02-16}, institution = {ClearSky}, url = {https://www.clearskysec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/ClearSky-Fox-Kitten-Campaign.pdf}, language = {English}, urldate = {2020-04-20} } Fox Kitten Campaign: Widespread Iranian Espionage-Offensive Campaign
SSHNET Fox Kitten
2020-01-17FireEyeFireEye
@online{fireeye:20200117:state:c000016, author = {FireEye}, title = {{State of the Hack: Spotlight Iran - from Cain & Abel to full SANDSPY}}, date = {2020-01-17}, organization = {FireEye}, url = {https://youtu.be/pBDu8EGWRC4?t=2492}, language = {English}, urldate = {2020-09-18} } State of the Hack: Spotlight Iran - from Cain & Abel to full SANDSPY
QUADAGENT Fox Kitten
2020-01-09DragosDragos
@online{dragos:20200109:parisite:d17dd24, author = {Dragos}, title = {{PARISITE}}, date = {2020-01-09}, organization = {Dragos}, url = {https://www.dragos.com/threat/parisite}, language = {English}, urldate = {2020-09-18} } PARISITE
Fox Kitten
2020-01DragosDragos
@techreport{dragos:202001:north:41ab73f, author = {Dragos}, title = {{North American Electric Cyber Threat Perspective}}, date = {2020-01}, institution = {Dragos}, url = {https://www.dragos.com/wp-content/uploads/NA-EL-Threat-Perspective-2019.pdf}, language = {English}, urldate = {2020-09-18} } North American Electric Cyber Threat Perspective
Fox Kitten

Credits: MISP Project