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Careto threat group

Careto is an espionage group thought to operate from Spain, with suspected state backing. Public reporting links it to attacks on government and private sector organisations, with 14 countries and victims named. This free profile brings together what is known about it, so you can judge the risk to you.

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Attack techniques
0
Countries and victims named
14
Thought to operate from
Spain
Suspected backing
Spain
Motive
Espionage
Other names
3
Built from public reporting, with every source listed below.
Overview

Who is Careto?

Careto has 3 other names in security research. Below is what published reporting says about it, with a link to every report so you can check the detail yourself.

Also known as

The MaskMaskUgly Face

Security companies each give the same group their own name, so one group can have many.

What public reporting says

This threat actor targets governments, diplomatic missions, private companies in the energy sector, and academics for espionage purposes. The Mask is an advanced threat actor that has been involved in cyber-espionage operations since at least 2007. The name "Mask" comes from the Spanish slang word "Careto" ("Ugly Face" or “Mask”) which the authors included in some of the malware modules. More than 380 unique victims in 31 countries have been observed to date.What makes “The Mask” special is the complexity of the toolset used by the attackers. This includes an extremely sophisticated malware, a rootkit, a bootkit, 32-and 64-bit Windows versions, Mac OS X and Linux versions and possibly versions for Android and iPad/iPhone (Apple iOS).

Public reports about Careto (3)

Targets

Who does Careto go after?

The sectors and places named in public reporting about this group. If yours is on the list, it is worth knowing how they work and which flaws they use.

Sectors (2)

GovernmentPrivate sector
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Countries and victims named (14)

  1. 01Morocco
  2. 02France
  3. 03Libya
  4. 04Venezuela
  5. 05Poland
  6. 06Brazil
  7. 07Spain
  8. 08United States
  9. 09South Africa
  10. 10Tunisia
  11. 11United Kingdom
  12. 12Switzerland
  13. 13Iran
  14. 14Germany
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FAQ

Questions about Careto

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Careto is an espionage group thought to operate from Spain, with suspected state backing. Public reporting links it to attacks on government and private sector organisations, with 14 countries and victims named.

Public reporting places Careto as operating from Spain, with suspected state backing. Attribution is never certain: it rests on the tools, infrastructure and targets researchers have seen.

In public reporting, sectors named include government and private sector, and 14 countries and victims are named, including Morocco, France, Libya and Venezuela.

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