Cutting Kitten is an IRGC-linked nation-state group known for large-scale DDoS attacks against the U.S. financial sector.
Analyst brief
Cutting Kitten, also known as ITsecTeam, is a nation-state group linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The group primarily targeted the U.S. financial sector, including major banks like Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo, as well as telecommunications company AT&T and the NYSE. Their primary TTP involved conducting large-scale denial of service attacks against U.S. entities in 2012–2013, leading to the indictment of three members by the U.S. Justice Department in 2016. Defenders should focus on ensuring resilience against high-volume DDoS attacks and monitor for distributed targeting tactics against financial infrastructure by Iranian-linked actors.
Cutting Kitten
ITsecTeam
nation-state
One of the threat actors responsible for the denial of service attacks against U.S in 2012–2013. Three individuals associated with the group—believed to be have been working on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps—were indicted by the Justice Department in 2016.
origin (suspected)
🇮🇷Iran· state-sponsoredattribution confidence: medium (50)
target countries (as stated by the source)
United StatesBank of AmericaUS BancorpFifth Third Bank