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Cloud Atlas, also known as Inception and Inception Framework, is an intrusion set that uses spearphishing attachments and user-execution lures for initial compromise. Its Windows-focused tooling uses malicious HTA content, PowerShell, VBScript, and regsvr32-based execution. The group performs host and process reconnaissance, including collection of operating-system, hardware, active-process, loaded-module, file, and directory information. It deploys browser-focused plugins to steal saved passwords and browser sessions from multiple browsers and hunts for documents and text files on compromised hosts. Cloud Atlas has established persistence through Windows autorun mechanisms and boot-time execution. Its command-and-control communications have used HTTP, HTTPS, and WebDAV, with AES encryption for network traffic.
Mallory correlates actor tradecraft and target patterns against your stack, your sector, and your geography. See overlap before they land.
Who, where, and (when attributed) which flag flies behind the operation. Pulled from open-source reporting and Mallory's analyst review.
Sectors the actor has been observed targeting.
Geographies tied to known operations.
Attributed origin per open-source reporting.
49 distinct techniques observed across reporting, grouped by tactic. Hover any cell for the evidence excerpt; click through for MITRE's full description.
15 malware families attributed to this actor across reporting.
10 additional families tracked in Mallory.
5 CVEs this actor has used in observed campaigns. 5 of them exploited in the wild.
Cloud Atlas used malicious Office documents to exploit CVE-2018-0802 and deliver CloudAtlasGo.
In August 2014, some of our users observed targeted attacks with a variation of CVE-2012-0158 and an unusual set of malware.
Previously, Cloud Atlas dropped its “validator” implant named “PowerShower” directly, after exploiting the Microsoft Equation vulnerability (CVE-2017-11882) mixed with CVE-2018-0802.
Inception has exploited CVE-2012-0158, CVE-2014-1761, CVE-2017-11882 and CVE-2018-0802 for execution.
This detection identifies instances where Windows Explorer.exe spawns PowerShell or cmd.exe processes, particularly focusing on executions initiated by LNK files. This behavior is associated with the ZDI-CAN-25373 Windows shortcut zero-day vulnerability, where specially crafted LNK files are used to trigger malicious code execution through cmd.exe or powershell.exe. This technique has been actively exploited by multiple APT groups in targeted attacks through both HTTP and SMB delivery methods.
181 indicators attributed to this actor: domains, IPs, hashes, and other artifacts pulled from reporting. View more in app.
20 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
Used Microsoft Equation Editor exploitation to deliver the CloudAtlasGo malware.
Used malicious Office documents to exploit a Microsoft Office vulnerability and deliver the CloudAtlasGo payload for espionage-oriented access.
Listed as one of many threat actors associated with the detection's ATT&CK-style annotations for PowerShell and DNS TXT command-and-control behavior; no specific campaign or activity is described in this reference.
Match sector + geo + tech-stack targeting against your real footprint.
Every observed MITRE ATT&CK technique, grouped by tactic.
Families this actor is known to deploy, with IOCs and behavior.
CVEs this actor has used in known campaigns.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Domains, IPs, and hashes tied to this actor, refreshed continuously.