Iranian Government Hackers Spy On Dissidents

Many countries spy on their populations via mobilr apps and now Check Point Research has uncovered Rampant Kitten, an Iranian hacker group that has monitored and spied on Iran’s government political opponents for years. Rampant Kitten has developed special Android malware capable of intercepting and stealing two-factor authentication (2FA) codes sent via SMS.

The hackers use malware disguised as Android applications via the target’s mobile phone or computer. This malware can focus on any service and it targets Google, Telegram and other major Internet or social services.

The thinking is that Rampant Kitten operators would use the Android Trojan to show a Google phishing page, capture the user's account credentials, and then access the victim's account. Check Point says the group has been active for at least six years and has been engaged in an ongoing surveillance operation against Iranian minorities, anti-regime organisations, and resistance movements. 

The primary targets include supporters of Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) and the Azerbaijan National Resistance Organisation, two prominent resistance movements that advocate the liberation of Iranian people and minorities within Iran.

The attackers first use a phishing Trojan to collect login details, and then try those with the real site. If the victim has two-factor authentication turned on, the newly-reported malware intercepts the incoming SMS messages and quietly sends copies to the intruders.

The code also has tools to grab contacts, text message logs and even microphone audio, but it’s unusually centered around two-factor data. It has so far been found in an app pretending to help Persian speakers in Sweden get driver’s licenses, but it might be available in other apps.

The campaign was initially uncovered by the discovery of a document targeting the MEK in Albania. The MEK had originally been headquartered in Iraq, but following mounting political tensions had moved to Albania. The malicious document uses an external template downloaded from a remote server.

Analysis of this payload led to the discovery of multiple variants dating back to 2014. This uncovered further websites, operated by the same group. Some of these websites hosted phishing pages impersonating Telegram.

Surprisingly, this phishing attack seems to have been known to Iranian Telegram users as several Iranian Telegram channels sent out warnings against the phishing sites, claiming that the Iranian regime is behind them. Rampant Kitten appears to have been running this campaign largely undetected for at least six years. The targets seem to be dissidents associated with a number of anti-regime Iranian groups.

It seems almost certain that this is another example of Iranian threat actors, quite possibly with some affiliation to the Iranian regime, collecting intelligence on potential opponents to the regime. 

While it is widely accepted that state-sponsored hacking groups are usually capable of bypassing 2FA, it is very rare that we get an insight into their tools and how they do it.

Check Point Research:      Arab News:     Security Week:      ZDNet:        Engadget: 

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