Threat actor
Cleaver
Last fetched
Cleaver is a threat actor tracked in WhisperGraph's MITRE ATT&CK corpus, observed using 5 techniques and also known as 8 other names.
Also known as
Threat Group 2889, TG-2889, Operation Cleaver, Op Cleaver, Tarh Andishan, Alibaba, Cobalt Gypsy, G0003
Description
[Cleaver](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0003) is a threat group that has been attributed to Iranian actors and is responsible for activity tracked as Operation Cleaver. (Citation: Cylance Cleaver) Strong circumstantial evidence suggests Cleaver is linked to Threat Group 2889 (TG-2889). (Citation: Dell Threat Group 2889)
Techniques by tactic
Attributed infrastructure
None published. WhisperGraph carries no ATTRIBUTED_TO edge to Cleaver today — this states the absence of a published link, not that Cleaver has no infrastructure.
References
- https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0003
- https://web.archive.org/web/20200302085133/https://www.cylance.com/content/dam/cylance/pages/operation-cleaver/Cylance_Operation_Cleaver_Report.pdf
- http://www.secureworks.com/cyber-threat-intelligence/threats/suspected-iran-based-hacker-group-creates-network-of-fake-linkedin-profiles/
- https://www.secureworks.com/research/the-curious-case-of-mia-ash
- https://www.cfr.org/interactive/cyber-operations/operation-cleaver
- https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/us/security/news/cyber-attacks/operation-woolen-goldfish-when-kittens-go-phishing
- https://www.secureworks.com/blog/iranian-pupyrat-bites-middle-eastern-organizations
- https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2019/03/27/new-steps-to-protect-customers-from-hacking/
- https://www.trendmicro.de/cloud-content/us/pdfs/security-intelligence/white-papers/wp-the-spy-kittens-are-back.pdf
- https://blog.checkpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/rocket-kitten-report.pdf
- https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0003/
- https://xorl.wordpress.com/2021/05/06/iran-cyber-operations-groups/
- https://www.secureworks.com/research/suspected-iran-based-hacker-group-creates-network-of-fake-linkedin-profiles
- https://know.netenrich.com/threatintel/threat_actor/Cutting%20Kitten
- https://www.cfr.org/cyber-operations/operation-cleaver
- https://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/33682/cyber-crime/ali-baba-apt-middle-east.html
- https://scadahacker.com/library/Documents/Cyber_Events/Cylance%20-%20Operation%20Cleaver%20Report.pdf
© The MITRE Corporation. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of The MITRE Corporation.
Related pages
Pivot from Cleaver into its techniques, tactics and any attributed infrastructure.
Queries
Resolves the slug to this actor, merging every duplicate node sharing the same name.
MATCH (a:ACTOR)
WHERE a.name =~ $pattern OR any(x IN a.aliases WHERE x =~ $pattern)
RETURN a.id AS id, a.name AS name, a.aliases AS aliases, a.description AS description,
a.references AS references, a.campaigns AS campaigns
LIMIT 25Techniques this actor uses, grouped by the tactic each one serves.
MATCH (a:ACTOR {name: $name})-[:USES_TECHNIQUE]->(t:ATTACK_PATTERN)
OPTIONAL MATCH (t)-[:USES_TACTIC]->(tac:ATTACK_PATTERN)
RETURN t.id AS techniqueId, t.name AS techniqueName, tac.id AS tacticId, tac.name AS tacticName
LIMIT 1000Infrastructure publicly attributed to this actor.
MATCH (n)-[:ATTRIBUTED_TO]->(a:ACTOR {name: $name})
RETURN labels(n)[0] AS kind, n.name AS name
LIMIT 25Or query Whisper from your own LLM workflow via the Whisper MCP server.