# Madi: threat group profile

> Madi 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. It lists the other names the group goes by and links to every public report behind it.

Canonical page: https://www.precursorintelligence.com/threat-actors/madi
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## At a glance

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Attack techniques | 0 |
| Countries and victims named | 4 |
| Thought to operate from | Iran |
| Suspected backing | Iran |
| Motive | Espionage |
| Other names | 0 |
| Public reports | 6 |

## Who is Madi?

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

### What public reporting says

> Kaspersky Lab and Seculert worked together to sinkhole the Madi Command & Control (C&C) servers to monitor the campaign. Kaspersky Lab and Seculert identified more than 800 victims located in Iran, Israel and select countries across the globe connecting to the C&Cs over the past eight months. Statistics from the sinkhole revealed that the victims were primarily business people working on Iranian and Israeli critical infrastructure projects, Israeli financial institutions, Middle Eastern engineering students, and various government agencies communicating in the Middle East. Common applications and websites that were spied on include accounts on Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, ICQ, Skype, Google+, and Facebook. Surveillance is also performed over integrated ERP/CRM systems, business contracts, and financial management systems.

## Who does Madi go after?

**Sectors:** Government, Private sector

**Countries and victims named:** Iran, Pakistan, Israel, United States

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

## Public reports about Madi

- https://securelist.com/the-madi-campaign-part-i-5/33693/
- https://securelist.com/the-madi-campaign-part-ii-53/33701/
- https://www.cfr.org/interactive/cyber-operations/madi
- https://www.kaspersky.com/about/press-releases/2012_kaspersky-lab-and-seculert-announce--madi--a-newly-discovered-cyber-espionage-campaign-in-the-middle-east
- https://threatpost.com/new-and-improved-madi-spyware-campaign-continues-072512/76849/
- https://web.archive.org/web/20120718173322/https://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/madi-attacks-series-social-engineering-campaigns

## Frequently asked questions

### Who is Madi?

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

### Where is Madi thought to be based?

Public reporting places Madi 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 Madi target?

In public reporting, sectors named include government and private sector, and 4 countries and victims are named, including Iran, Pakistan, Israel and United States.

### How do I know if Madi 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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