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Threat actor

MuddyWater

Last fetched

MuddyWater is a threat actor tracked in WhisperGraph's MITRE ATT&CK corpus, observed using 68 techniques and also known as 14 other names.

Also known as

Earth Vetala, MERCURY, Static Kitten, Seedworm, TEMP.Zagros, Mango Sandstorm, TA450, MuddyKrill, COBALT ULSTER, G0069, ATK51, Boggy Serpens, MUDDYCOAST, MUDDY ION

Description

[MuddyWater](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0069) is a cyber espionage group assessed to be a subordinate element within Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).(Citation: CYBERCOM Iranian Intel Cyber January 2022) Since at least 2017, [MuddyWater](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0069) has targeted a range of government and private organizations across sectors, including telecommunications, local government, finance, defense, and oil and natural gas organizations, in the Middle East (specifically the UAE and Saudi Arabia), Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. [MuddyWater](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0069) has reused domains dating back to October 2025, and has a preference for NameCheap and Hosterdaddy Private Limited (AS136557). In late 2025 and early 2026, [MuddyWater](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0069) used commercial satellite internet (i.e., Starlink) for command and control (C2) communication. (Citation: FalconFeeds_Iran_Mar2026)(Citation: Huntio_IranInfra_Mar2026)(Citation: Unit 42 MuddyWater Nov 2017)(Citation: Symantec MuddyWater Dec 2018)(Citation: ClearSky MuddyWater Nov 2018)(Citation: ClearSky MuddyWater June 2019)(Citation: Reaqta MuddyWater November 2017)(Citation: DHS CISA AA22-055A MuddyWater February 2022)(Citation: Talos MuddyWater Jan 2022)(Citation: NaumaanProofpoint_GlobalClickFix_April2025)(Citation: ESET_MuddyWater_Dec2025)(Citation: SymantecCarbonBlack_Seedworm_Mar2026)

Techniques by tactic

Collection

Command and Control

Credential Access

Defense Impairment

Discovery

Execution

Exfiltration

Initial Access

Lateral Movement

Persistence

Privilege Escalation

Reconnaissance

Resource Development

Stealth

Attributed infrastructure

None published. WhisperGraph carries no ATTRIBUTED_TO edge to MuddyWater today — this states the absence of a published link, not that MuddyWater has no infrastructure.

References

© The MITRE Corporation. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of The MITRE Corporation.

Related pages

Pivot from MuddyWater 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 25
Run yourself →

Techniques 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 1000
Run yourself →

Infrastructure publicly attributed to this actor.


MATCH (n)-[:ATTRIBUTED_TO]->(a:ACTOR {name: $name})
RETURN labels(n)[0] AS kind, n.name AS name
LIMIT 25
Run yourself →

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