# Stealth Falcon: threat group profile

> Stealth Falcon is an espionage group thought to operate from United Arab Emirates, with suspected state backing. Public reporting links it to 13 attack techniques, and to attacks on civil society organisations, with 2 countries and victims named. This free profile shows how it works and who it targets, so you can judge the risk to you.

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

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Attack techniques | 13 (plus 6 sub-techniques) |
| Countries and victims named | 2 |
| Thought to operate from | United Arab Emirates |
| Suspected backing | United Arab Emirates |
| Motive | Espionage |
| Other names | 2 |
| Public reports | 4 |

## Who is Stealth Falcon?

Stealth Falcon is an espionage group thought to operate from United Arab Emirates, with suspected state backing. Public reporting links it to 13 attack techniques, and to attacks on civil society organisations, with 2 countries and victims named.

### Also known as

FruityArmor, G0038

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

### What public reporting says

> This threat actor targets civil society groups and Emirati journalists, activists, and dissidents.

## How does Stealth Falcon attack? Stage by stage

Each technique is a known way attackers research, get in, stay hidden or do damage. Here are the 13 linked to Stealth Falcon. Some techniques belong to more than one stage. Public reporting also lists 6 more specific variations of them, called sub-techniques.

### 1. Research (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

### 2. Preparation (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

### 3. Getting in (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

### 4. Running code (3)

- T1047: Windows Management Instrumentation
- T1053: Scheduled Task/Job
- T1059: Command and Scripting Interpreter

### 5. Staying in (1)

- T1053: Scheduled Task/Job

### 6. Taking control (1)

- T1053: Scheduled Task/Job

### 7. Hiding (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

### 8. Disabling defences (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

### 9. Stealing passwords (1)

- T1555: Credentials from Password Stores

### 10. Looking around (5)

- T1012: Query Registry
- T1016: System Network Configuration Discovery
- T1033: System Owner/User Discovery
- T1057: Process Discovery
- T1082: System Information Discovery

### 11. Spreading (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

### 12. Gathering data (1)

- T1005: Data from Local System

### 13. Keeping contact (2)

- T1071: Application Layer Protocol
- T1573: Encrypted Channel

### 14. Taking data out (1)

- T1041: Exfiltration Over C2 Channel

### 15. Causing damage (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

## Who does Stealth Falcon go after?

**Sectors:** Civil society

**Countries and victims named:** United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom

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

## Public reports about Stealth Falcon

- https://citizenlab.ca/2016/05/stealth-falcon/
- https://www.cfr.org/interactive/cyber-operations/stealth-falcon
- https://securelist.com/cve-2019-0797-zero-day-vulnerability/89885/
- https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0038/

## Frequently asked questions

### Who is Stealth Falcon?

Stealth Falcon is an espionage group thought to operate from United Arab Emirates, with suspected state backing. Public reporting links it to 13 attack techniques, and to attacks on civil society organisations, with 2 countries and victims named.

### Where is Stealth Falcon thought to be based?

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

### Who does Stealth Falcon target?

In public reporting, sectors named include civil society, and 2 countries and victims are named, including United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom.

### How does Stealth Falcon attack?

Public reporting links Stealth Falcon to 13 attack techniques. Most of them are about looking around, running code and keeping contact.

### How do I know if Stealth Falcon 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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