APT33
aka Peach Sandstorm, Elfin, HOLMIUM, Refined Kitten
An Iranian group that has long targeted aviation, space, satellite and energy organizations. It gets in by mass password guessing or social-media approaches and hides in abused cloud accounts.
- Alert level
- 1/ 5
- Reports & advisories (90 days)
- 0
- Known exploited CVEs
- 0
- Personal data leaked (disclosed)
- None confirmed
Attribution
- Suspected Iranian threat group — MITRE ATT&CK
- Assessed to operate on behalf of Iran's IRGC — Microsoft
Exploited vulnerabilities and targeted products
If you run any of these products, first make sure they are updated to a fixed version.
How they attack
Entry
Password spraying
Like trying a few common passwords on every front door in town until one opens.
Inside
Using hijacked cloud accounts as a base
Like renting a storage unit under someone else's name to use as a drop point.
Goal
Long-term spying
Like leaving a tiny bug in the meeting room and listening in for months.
Sources
Attributions are quoted as assessed by governments and security vendors. VulnPulse does not make attributions itself.
Leak counts only add up figures disclosed by the affected companies or authorities, never the attackers' own claims. We do not list victim names or link to leak sites.
The alert level is calculated automatically from reports and advisories in the last 90 days, known exploited vulnerabilities, and whether the group has targeted Japan.
Updated 2026-10-23 · daily