# Charming Kitten: threat group profile

> Charming Kitten is an espionage group thought to operate from Iran, with suspected state backing. Public reporting about it is still limited. This free profile brings together what is known about it, so you can judge the risk to you.

Canonical page: https://www.precursorintelligence.com/threat-actors/charming-kitten
Breadcrumb: [Home](https://www.precursorintelligence.com/) > [Threat groups](https://www.precursorintelligence.com/threat-actors) > Charming Kitten

## At a glance

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Attack techniques | 0 |
| Countries and victims named | 5 |
| Thought to operate from | Iran |
| Suspected backing | Iran |
| Motive | Espionage |
| Other names | 7 |
| Public reports | 21 |

## Who is Charming Kitten?

Charming Kitten is an espionage group thought to operate from Iran, with suspected state backing. Public reporting about it is still limited.

### Also known as

Newscaster, Parastoo, iKittens, Group 83, NewsBeef, G0058, CharmingCypress

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

### What public reporting says

> Charming Kitten (aka Parastoo, aka Newscaster) is an group with a suspected nexus to Iran that targets organizations involved in government, defense technology, military, and diplomacy sectors.

## Who does Charming Kitten go after?

**Sectors:** Government, Military

**Countries and victims named:** U.S. government/defense sector websites, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Iraq, United Kingdom

See threats by industry: https://www.precursorintelligence.com/industries

## Public reports about Charming Kitten

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Newscaster
- https://iranthreats.github.io/resources/macdownloader-macos-malware/
- https://paper.seebug.org/papers/APT/APT_CyberCriminal_Campagin/2014/2014.05.28.NewsCaster_An_Iranian_Threat_Within_Social_Networks/file-2581720763-pdf.pdf
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2017/07/27/iran-hackers-oilrig-use-fake-personas-on-facebook-linkedin-for-cyberespionage/
- https://cryptome.org/2012/11/parastoo-hacks-iaea.htm
- https://securelist.com/files/2017/03/Report_Shamoon_StoneDrill_final.pdf
- https://securelist.com/blog/software/74503/freezer-paper-around-free-meat/
- https://www.verfassungsschutz.de/download/broschuere-2016-10-bfv-cyber-brief-2016-04.pdf
- https://www.cfr.org/interactive/cyber-operations/newscaster
- https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/may/29/iranian-hackers-sucker-punch-us-defense-heads-crea/
- https://securelist.com/freezer-paper-around-free-meat/74503/
- https://www.scmagazine.com/home/security-news/cybercrime/hbo-breach-accomplished-with-hard-work-by-hacker-poor-security-practices-by-victim/
- http://www.arabnews.com/node/1195681/media
- https://cyware.com/news/iranian-apt-charming-kitten-impersonates-clearsky-the-security-firm-that-uncovered-its-campaigns-7fea0b4f
- https://blog.certfa.com/posts/the-return-of-the-charming-kitten/
- https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-us-counterintelligence-agent-charged-espionage-behalf-iran-four-iranians-charged-cyber
- https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2019/03/27/new-steps-to-protect-customers-from-hacking/
- https://www.clearskysec.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Charming_Kitten_2017.pdf
- https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0058/
- https://go.crowdstrike.com/rs/281-OBQ-266/images/Report2020CrowdStrikeGlobalThreatReport.pdf
- https://www.volexity.com/blog/2024/02/13/charmingcypress-innovating-persistence/

## Frequently asked questions

### Who is Charming Kitten?

Charming Kitten is an espionage group thought to operate from Iran, with suspected state backing. Public reporting about it is still limited.

### Where is Charming Kitten thought to be based?

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

### Who does Charming Kitten target?

In public reporting, sectors named include government and military, and 5 countries and victims are named, including U.S. government/defense sector websites, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Iraq.

### How do I know if Charming Kitten is a risk to my business?

Create an account and tell us the software you run. We match it against known flaws, including those linked to threat groups, rank each one from 0 to 100 and tell you as soon as we spot something that affects you.

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