Actors Insights|Latest update04/07/2026

Domestic Kitten

Named by Check PointSuspected state sponsor: Islamic Republic of Iran

Domestic Kitten is an Iranian mobile surveillance threat cluster active since at least 2016, focused on monitoring Iranian citizens, Kurdish minorities, and diaspora communities perceived as threats to the Islamic Republic. Unlike most Iranian APT groups, the cluster targets its own population rather than foreign governments. It operates primarily through fake Android applications disguised as popular apps that harvest SMS messages, call logs, contacts, location data, and voice recordings. Check Point Research documented the campaign in 2018, identifying over 1,200 targeted individuals across 10 countries. APT-C-50 is a parallel designation from Chinese researchers for the same activity.

First Seen:Jan 2016
Last Seen:Feb 2021
Indexed Reports:2
Public IOCs:42
Cluster: Domestic KittenMisp: Domestic Kitten
also known as:
Bouncing Golf (Trend Micro)APT-C-50 (Check Point)Domestic Kitten (Check Point)

Targeted Regions

Afghanistan
AF
Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Iran
IR
Iran
Iran
Jan 2016 ~ Sep 2018
Jan 2016 ~ Sep 2018
Jan 2016 ~ Sep 2018
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jan 2016 ~ Sep 2018
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jan 2016 ~ Sep 2018
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jan 2016 ~ Sep 2018
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Pakistan
PK
Pakistan
Pakistan
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Turkey
TR
Turkey
Turkey
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
United Kingdom
GB
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
United States
US
United States
United States
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jun 2017 ~ Feb 2021
Jan 2016Jul 2026

Recent Indexed Reports

  1. Public
    Domestic Kitten: Inside Iran's Surveillance Campaign Against Citizens
  2. Public
    Domestic Kitten: Iranian Surveillance on Citizens Using Malicious Mobile Apps

Disclaimer: We are working on indexing and analyzing relevant data and this process is not fully completed yet. Therefore, displayed details and statistics may will change in the future.