BladedFeline Targets Iraq and Kurdistan Governments with Custom Malware Arsenal
- Actor Motivations: Espionage,Exfiltration
- Attack Vectors: Vulnerability Exploitation,Backdoor,Downloader,Malware
- Attack Complexity: High
- Threat Risk: High Impact/High Probability
Threat Overview
BladedFeline, an Iran-aligned APT group likely linked to OilRig (APT34), has conducted a multi-year cyberespionage campaign targeting Kurdish and Iraqi government officials as well as a telecommunications provider in Uzbekistan. Active since at least 2017, the group deployed various custom tools—including the Shahmaran and Whisper backdoors, the PrimeCache IIS module, reverse tunnels (Laret and Pinar), and several post-compromise implants—to maintain long-term access. Whisper abuses Microsoft Exchange email infrastructure for covert C2, while PrimeCache leverages malicious IIS components. This activity highlights Iran’s strategic interest in regional political and telecommunications sectors.
Detected Targets
| Type | Description | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Government Agencies and Services | Verified |
| Sector | Telecommunication | Verified |
| Region | Iraq | Verified |
| Region | Uzbekistan | Verified |
Extracted IOCs
- 01b99ff47ec6394753f9ccdd2d43b3e804f9ee36
- 1c757accbc2755e83e530dda11b3f81007325e67
- 272cf34e8db2078a3170cf0e54255d89785e3c50
- 37859e94086ec47b3665328e9c9baf665cb869f6
- 3d21e1c9dfba38ec6997ae6e426df9291f89762a
- 4954e8ace23b48ec55f1ff3a47033351e9fa2d6c
- 562e1678ec8fdc1d83a3f73eb511a6dda08f3b3d
- 66bd8db40f4169c7f0fca3d5d15c978efe143cf8
- 6973d3ff8852a3292380b07858d43d0b80c0616e
- 73d0faa475c6e489b2c5c95bb51dede4719d199e
- b8afc21ef2aa854896b97f1c81b376dcdde2466d
- bb4ffcdbfad40125080c13fa4917a1e836a8d101
- be0ad25b7b48347984908175404996531cfd74b7
- e8e6e6afef3f574c1f5228bdb28abb34f8a0d09a
- f28d8c5c2283019e6ed788d20240abc8554cadb5
- 178[.]209.51.61
- 185[.]76.78.177
Tip: 17 related IOCs (2 IP, 0 domain, 0 URL, 0 email, 15 file hash) to this threat have been found.
FAQs
Understanding the BladedFeline Espionage Campaign
An Iranian-linked cyber-espionage group named BladedFeline has been secretly accessing and spying on Kurdish and Iraqi government networks, using a variety of custom malware tools.
The group is believed to be a subgroup of OilRig, a well-known cyber-espionage team aligned with Iran’s interests, active since at least 2014.
The attackers aimed to gather intelligence from high-ranking officials in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, likely to support Iranian strategic and geopolitical interests.
BladedFeline has been active since at least 2017, compromising multiple Kurdish government systems, officials in the central Iraqi government, and even a telecom provider in Uzbekistan.
The campaign targeted Kurdish diplomatic officials, Iraqi government personnel, and a regional telecom company, focusing on gaining and maintaining long-term access to sensitive systems.
While the exact methods remain unclear, it’s suspected they exploited unpatched web applications to plant webshells and deployed stealthy backdoors to maintain access.
The Kurdish region’s oil resources and diplomatic ties, as well as Iraq’s broader political influence, make them valuable targets for espionage by Iranian-aligned actors.
Organizations should secure email and web servers, monitor for unusual login or inbox rule behavior, use endpoint detection tools, and conduct regular threat hunts for suspicious activity.
Yes, this is part of an ongoing trend where Iranian-backed groups conduct cyber-espionage operations across the Middle East, aiming to gather intelligence and influence regional affairs.