Iranian Hackers Enhance Cyber Espionage Tactics in the Middle East
Iranian hacker group Scarred Manticore, believed to be affiliated with Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), has been conducting an ongoing espionage campaign targeting government, military, and telecom sectors in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, and Israel. The group, active since at least 2019, has been infiltrating organizations to exfiltrate data using advanced malware called Liontail, which allows remote command execution. Scarred Manticore's tools and capabilities demonstrate the progress Iranian actors have made, and while there are overlaps with the Iranian hacker group OilRig, attribution is not definitive. The group's operations are expected to continue and potentially expand into other regions aligned with Iranian long-term goals.