Tortoiseshell
Also known as IMPERIAL KITTEN, Yellow Liderc, TA456, DUSTYCAVE, Crimson Sandstorm, Cuboid Sandstorm, Smoke Sandstorm, CURIUM, Tortoise Shell
A previously undocumented attack group is using both custom and off-the-shelf malware to target IT providers in Saudi Arabia in what appear to be supply chain attacks with the end goal of compromising the IT providers’ customers. The group, which we are calling Tortoiseshell, has been active since at least July 2018. Symantec has identified a total of 11 organizations hit by the group, the majority of which are based in Saudi Arabia. In at least two organizations, evidence suggests that the attackers gained domain admin-level access.
Targets: Defense, Government, Military, Finance, Energy, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, Telecoms, High-Tech, Media, NGOs, Civil Society, Legal, Rail, Transportation
CVEs in recent coverage
No CVEs named alongside this actor in the last 90 days.
Recent victims
No leak-site posts on record for this group.
ATT&CK techniques
Recent activity
No posts or advisories have named this actor recently.
References
- https://www.symantec.com/blogs/threat-intelligence/tortoiseshell-apt-supply-chain
- https://www.darkreading.com/threat-intelligence/iranian-government-hackers-target-us-veterans/d/d-id/1335897
- https://ctoatncsc.substack.com/p/cto-at-ncsc-summary-week-ending-october
- https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/cybersecurity/cyber-threat-intelligence/yellow-liderc-ships-its-scripts-delivers-imaploader-malware.html
- https://ics-cert.kaspersky.com/publications/reports/2023/09/25/apt-and-financial-attacks-on-industrial-organizations-in-h1-2023/
- https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/tool-of-first-resort-israel-hamas-war-cyber.pdf
- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2021/11/16/evolving-trends-in-iranian-threat-actor-activity-mstic-presentation-at-cyberwarcon-2021/
- https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1012
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/security/intelligence/microsoft-threat-actor-naming?view=o365-worldwide
- https://symantec-enterprise-blogs.security.com/blogs/threat-intelligence/tortoiseshell-apt-supply-chain
- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2021/11/16/evolving-trends-in-iranian-threat-actor-activity-mstic-presentation-at-cyberwarcon-2021
- https://www.proofpoint.com/us/blog/threat-insight/i-knew-you-were-trouble-ta456-targets-defense-contractor-alluring-social-media
From the MISP threat-actor galaxy, MITRE ATT&CK and RansomLook (CC BY 4.0). Activity is any post or advisory Watch Floor collected that names the actor or one of its aliases.