Threats Feed|APT35|Last Updated 28/01/2026|AuthorCertfa Radar|Publish Date29/11/2024

APT35 Targets Aerospace and Semiconductor Sectors Across Multiple Countries

  • Actor Motivations: Espionage,Exfiltration
  • Attack Vectors: Malware,Spear Phishing
  • Attack Complexity: High
  • Threat Risk: High Impact/Low Probability

Threat Overview

APT35 targeted the aerospace and semiconductor industries in the US, Thailand, UAE, and Israel using fake recruitment and corporate websites. These sites delivered malware via forged legitimate programs and malicious DLLs to compromise victims. The group leveraged platforms like GitHub, OneDrive, and Google Cloud for C&C communications and payload delivery. In a related attack, a semiconductor company was targeted using a VPN program laced with malicious components. Persistence mechanisms included registry modifications, while obfuscation techniques were used to evade detection. APT35’s activities are linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran.

Detected Targets

TypeDescriptionConfidence
SectorHigh-Tech
Verified
SectorAerospace
Verified
RegionIsrael
Verified
RegionThailand
Verified
RegionUnited Arab Emirates
Verified
RegionUnited States
Verified

Extracted IOCs

  • msdnhelp[.]com
  • visioffline[.]com
  • xboxapicenter[.]com
  • cdn.careers2find[.]com
  • customer.orbotech[.]info
  • 88097e4780bfdc184b16c5a8a90793983676ad43749ffca49c9d70780e32c33a
  • 918e70e3f5fdafad28effd512b2f2d21c86cb3d3f14ec14f7ff9e7f0760fd760
  • bf308e5c91bcd04473126de716e3e668cac6cb1ac9c301132d61845a6d4cb362
  • c1f1ce81115bed45c594aeeb92adb687bb04478cb40bb9dab538277d0c8cc13e
  • cfdc7747b716be5817ce1bc76decfb3e1b27113545a01558ed97ab5fd024c53e
  • db034eb09fea48cc77d19804126f64c5336dd4e33b3884dc33d5336a434cb315
  • e5fbaab1270deb86b419abb348f19c2b9afd6e5c2e151c4d0869f6c5d889e029
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Tip: 12 related IOCs (0 IP, 5 domain, 0 URL, 0 email, 7 file hash) to this threat have been found.

Overlaps

TA455Charming Kitten’s TA455 Uses Social Engineering to Spread Malware in Aerospace Sector

Source: ClearSky - November 2024

Detection (one case): xboxapicenter[.]com

Hint: Overlaps are extracted automatically by examining the IOCs associated with all indexed threats and actors.

About Affiliation
APT35
APT35 is Mandiant's designation for the Iranian state-sponsored threat actor widely tracked as Charming Kitten, linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Active since at least 2014, the group targets journalists, academics, human rights activists, think tank researchers, and government officials using elaborate spear phishing campaigns. APT35 is known for impersonating major media outlets and sending credential harvesting links via email and SMS. The group also exploits N-day vulnerabilities in enterprise applications such as ProxyShell and Log4Shell to gain initial access to high-value targets.
View APT35's Insights