Threat actor · all actors
APT42G1044 state
🇮🇷 IR
aka APT42, UNC788, CALANQUE, CALANQUE ION
Last updated: 2026-08-20
About this actor
[APT42](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1044) is an Iranian-sponsored threat group that conducts cyber espionage and surveillance.(Citation: Mandiant APT42-charms) The group primarily focuses on targets in the Middle East region, but has targeted a variety of industries and countries since at least 2015.(Citation: Mandiant APT42-charms) [APT42](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1044) starts cyber operations through spearphishing emails and/or the PINEFLOWER Android malware, then monitors and collects information from the compromised systems and devices.(Citation: Mandiant APT42-charms) Finally, [APT42](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1044) exfiltrates data using native features and open-source tools.(Citation: Mandiant APT42-untangling) [APT42](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1044) activities have been linked to [Magic Hound](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0059) by other commercial vendors. While there are behavior and software overlaps between [Magic Hound](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0059) and [APT42](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1044), they appear to be distinct entities and are tracked as separate entities by their originating vendor.
Source: MITRE ATT&CK
Names & naming systems
Each vendor coins its own name for the same actor. Where a name follows a known scheme we attribute it; the rest are listed honestly as unclassified.
MITRE ATT&CKG-number catalogue id
Mandiant / genericAPT numbering
MandiantUNC uncategorised cluster
Unclassifiedno scheme matched
How we know this
- Data origin
- MITRE ATT&CK Imported from the MITRE ATT&CK STIX bundle as an intrusion-set object.
- Techniques
- MITRE ATT&CK STIX mappings — 47 ATT&CK techniques on file.
- Named victims
- None on file.
See how actor data is built for the full pipeline.
Activity timeline
No activity events recorded.
Profile
| CVE | Risk | CVSS | EPSS | Published | Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No attributed CVEs. | |||||
T1016System Network Configuration Discovery ↗T1036Masquerading ↗T1036.005Match Legitimate Resource Name or Location ↗T1047Windows Management Instrumentation ↗T1053Scheduled Task/Job ↗T1053.005Scheduled Task ↗T1056Input Capture ↗T1056.001Keylogging ↗T1059Command and Scripting Interpreter ↗T1059.001PowerShell ↗T1059.005Visual Basic ↗T1070Indicator Removal ↗T1070.008Clear Mailbox Data ↗T1071Application Layer Protocol ↗T1071.001Web Protocols ↗T1082System Information Discovery ↗T1087Account Discovery ↗T1087.001Local Account ↗T1102Web Service ↗T1111Multi-Factor Authentication Interception ↗T1112Modify Registry ↗T1113Screen Capture ↗T1132Data Encoding ↗T1132.001Standard Encoding ↗T1518Software Discovery ↗T1518.001Security Software Discovery ↗T1530Data from Cloud Storage ↗T1539Steal Web Session Cookie ↗T1547Boot or Logon Autostart Execution ↗T1555Credentials from Password Stores ↗T1555.003Credentials from Web Browsers ↗T1566Phishing ↗T1566.002Spearphishing Link ↗T1573Encrypted Channel ↗T1573.002Asymmetric Cryptography ↗T1583Acquire Infrastructure ↗T1583.001Domains ↗T1583.003Virtual Private Server ↗T1585Establish Accounts ↗T1585.002Email Accounts ↗T1588Obtain Capabilities ↗T1588.002Tool ↗T1608Stage Capabilities ↗T1608.001Upload Malware ↗T1682Query Public AI Services ↗T1684Social Engineering ↗T1684.001Impersonation ↗
Mitigating controls (NIST 800-53)
| Control | Techniques covered | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
SI-4 | 25 / 47 | 53% |
CM-6 | 24 / 47 | 51% |
CM-2 | 22 / 47 | 47% |
CA-7 | 19 / 47 | 40% |
SI-3 | 19 / 47 | 40% |
CM-7 | 16 / 47 | 34% |
AC-6 | 14 / 47 | 30% |
AC-3 | 13 / 47 | 28% |
AC-2 | 12 / 47 | 26% |
AC-4 | 11 / 47 | 23% |
SC-7 | 10 / 47 | 21% |
SI-7 | 10 / 47 | 21% |
AC-5 | 8 / 47 | 17% |
IA-2 | 8 / 47 | 17% |
RA-5 | 8 / 47 | 17% |
Co-occurring actors
None.
Similar actors
Similar TTPs
- TA2541 0.35
- MuddyWater 0.28
- HEXANE 0.27
- OilRig 0.26
- RedCurl 0.26
Same nation-state
- HomeLand Justice 1.00
- Outer Space 1.00
- Juicy Mix 1.00
- Cleaver 1.00
- OilRig 1.00
Same category
- Night Dragon 1.00
- FunnyDream 1.00
- C0011 1.00
- Operation Wocao 1.00
- Operation Dream Job 1.00