Description

Peach Sandstorm, a renowned Iranian hacker group linked to APT33, Elfin, and Refined Kitten, has expanded its global cyber campaign across diverse sectors. Focused on aviation, construction, defense, education, energy, finance, healthcare, government, satellite, and telecommunications industries, their recent 2023 activities pinpoint heightened interest in satellite, defense, and pharmaceutical sectors. Known for password spray campaigns, Peach Sandstorm displayed opportunistic behaviors but has transitioned in 2023, adopting advanced cloud-based techniques, diverging from their previous noisy operations. Microsoft's Threat Intelligence team unveiled a newly discovered backdoor, "FalseFont," designed to breach Microsoft's Windows OS. Peach Sandstorm is attributed to this creation, targeting individuals within the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) sector. FalseFont empowers threat actors with remote access, file launching, and data transmission to Command and Control (C2) servers, enhancing their infiltration capabilities. The detection of FalseFont in early November 2023 aligns with Microsoft's year-long monitoring of Peach Sandstorm, indicating continuous evolution in their tailored cyber arsenal. Microsoft's Threat Intelligence team is actively investigating Peach Sandstorm's activities through Microsoft Defender XDR, striving to uncover and mitigate associated threats. Stay vigilant and updated with security measures, as Peach Sandstorm's advancements pose a critical threat, especially within defense-related sectors.