Threat actors target Middle Eastern organizations with malware disguised as the legitimate Palo Alto GlobalProtect Tool that can steal data and execute remote PowerShell commands to infiltrate internal networks further.

Since the last quarter of 2020 MuddyWater has mantained a “long-term” infection campaign targeting Middle East countries. We have gathered samples from November 2020 to January 2022, and due to the recent samples found, it seems that this campaign might still be currently active. The latest campaigns of the Muddy Water threat group, allegedly sponsored by the Iranian government and linked to the Iranian revolutionary guard (the main armed forces of the Iranian government), could be framed within the dynamics of maintaining Iran’s regional sovereignty.