Charming Kitten
Date of report
  • May 2014
Affiliations

This threat actor uses watering hole attacks and fake profiles to lure targets from the U.S. government for espionage purposes. Also believed to target scholars who study Iran, human rights organizations, and the media. At least one cybersecurity company claims that Behzah Mesri, who was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice for compromising the networks of HBO, was a member of this threat actor group

Suspected victims
  • U.S. government/defense sector websites, Israel, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Individuals associated with the U.S. government or 2020 presidential election
Suspected state sponsor
  • Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Type of incident
  • Espionage
Target category
  • Government
  • Military
Victim government reaction
  • Unknown
Suspected state sponsor response