Threats Feed|APT42|Last Updated 28/01/2026|AuthorCertfa Radar|Publish Date29/08/2024

IRGC-Linked Campaign Uses Fake Recruitment to Target Farsi Speakers Worldwide

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

Threat Overview

Mandiant has uncovered an Iranian counterintelligence operation aimed at gathering data on Iranians and domestic threats potentially collaborating with foreign intelligence agencies, particularly in Israel. The operation involved fake recruitment websites, disseminated via social media, that lured Farsi-speaking individuals into providing personal and professional details. This data is likely used to identify and persecute Iranian dissidents, activists, and human rights advocates. The campaign, linked to Iran’s IRGC and APT42, operated from 2017 to 2024 and extends beyond Iran to target individuals connected to Syria and Hezbollah.

Detected Targets

TypeDescriptionConfidence
SectorDissident
High
SectorHuman Rights
High
RegionIran
Verified
RegionLebanon
Verified
RegionSyria
Verified

Extracted IOCs

  • azadijobs[.]me
  • beparas[.]com
  • bilal1com[.]com
  • damavand-hr[.]me
  • damkahill[.]com
  • darakeh[.]me
  • dream-jobs[.]org
  • dream-jobs[.]vip
  • dreamycareer[.]com
  • dreamy-job[.]com
  • dreamy-jobs[.]com
  • golanjobs[.]me
  • hat-cast[.]com
  • irnjobs[.]me
  • joinoptimahr[.]com
  • jomehjob[.]com
  • kandovani[.]org
  • opthrltd[.]me
  • optimac-hr[.]com
  • optima-hr[.]com
  • optimax-hr[.]com
  • parasil[.]me
  • radabala[.]com
  • rostam-hr[.]vip
  • salamjobs[.]me
  • shirazicom[.]com
  • syrtime[.]me
  • titanium-hr[.]com
  • topiranjobs[.]me
  • topwor4u[.]com
  • trnjobs[.]me
  • vipjobsglobal[.]com
  • wazayif-halima[.]com
  • wazayif-halima[.]org
  • wehatcast[.]com
  • youna101[.]me
  • younamesh[.]com
  • sendcv@vipjobsglobal[.]com
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Tip: 38 related IOCs (0 IP, 37 domain, 0 URL, 1 email, 0 file hash) to this threat have been found.

Overlaps

MuddyWaterUnmasking Iranian Cyber Operations: Threat Actors Target Global Critical Infrastructure

Source: Hunt.io - March 2026

Detection (two cases): dreamy-jobs[.]com, wazayif-halima[.]org

UnclassifiedIRGC Cyber Campaign Targets US Political Campaigns and Middle Eastern Affairs

Source: Internet Crime Complaint Center - September 2024

Detection (one case): dreamycareer[.]com

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

About Affiliation
APT42
APT42 is an Iranian state-sponsored cyber espionage actor assessed by Mandiant to operate on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Intelligence Organization (IRGC-IO). Active since at least 2014, the group targets journalists, academics, NGOs, legal professionals, activists, and government officials across the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. APT42 is best known for sophisticated social engineering and credential harvesting campaigns — often impersonating journalists or event organizers — combined with cloud environment intrusions and custom malware such as NICECURL and TAMECAT. Proofpoint tracks the same cluster as TA453.
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