Nimbus Manticore
aka UNC1549, Smoke Sandstorm, TA455, Iranian Dream Job
An Iranian group that targets aerospace, defense and satellite telecom engineers posing as recruiters. Besides the Middle East, it expanded to European companies in 2025.
- Alert level
- 1/ 5
- Reports & advisories (90 days)
- 0
- Known exploited CVEs
- 0
- Personal data leaked (disclosed)
- None confirmed
Attribution
- Iran-nexus threat group — MITRE ATT&CK
- Assessed as suspected Iran-nexus UNC1549 — Google (Mandiant)
How they attack
Entry
Fake job offers and interviews
Like a recruiter with a dream job who asks you to open a 'test assignment' that is actually booby-trapped.
Inside
Hiding behind legitimate software
Like borrowing a real guard's name badge and doing the rounds as them.
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