Stealth Falcon

Overview

Stealth Falcon is a threat group that has conducted targeted spyware attacks against Emirati journalists, activists, and dissidents since at least 2012. Circumstantial evidence suggests there could be a link between this group and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government, but that has not been confirmed.

Naming & attribution

It uses 16 documented ATT&CK techniques — more than 45% of the 174 groups tracked here. Activity attributed since at least 2012.

Closest groups by technique overlap

Computed from shared ATT&CK techniques. Overlap is not attribution — distinct actors converge on the same tradecraft — but a high share is a useful pivot.

• Inception Russia — 7 shared techniques (23% overlap)
• APT37 North Korea — 8 shared techniques (22% overlap)
• Higaisa South Korea — 7 shared techniques (19% overlap)
• Winter Vivern Russia — 7 shared techniques (19% overlap)
• APT19 China — 6 shared techniques (19% overlap)
• OilRig Iran — 14 shared techniques (18% overlap)

Targets

Activists · Civil society · Dissidents · Journalists

Regions

United Arab Emirates · United Kingdom

TTPs — 16 techniques across 6 tactics

Reporting (1)

• Keep Calm and (Don’t) Enable Macros: A New Threat Actor Targets UAE Dissidents — Marczak, B. and Scott-Railton, J.