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Cloud Atlas, also known as Inception and Inception Framework, is a cyber-espionage threat actor associated with the Inception malware platform. Public reporting has linked the framework first exposed as Inception to the actor later tracked as Cloud Atlas. The group has been assessed as a state-aligned espionage actor, with historical analytical discussion noting possible links or lineage to the Red October cluster, though Cloud Atlas is generally tracked as its own intrusion set. Cloud Atlas is known for targeted spearphishing operations using weaponized document attachments to obtain initial access and induce user execution. The actor has also used malicious HTA content as a delivery and execution mechanism. Post-compromise tradecraft includes host reconnaissance, such as enumerating active processes and loaded modules, and collecting operating system and hardware information to profile infected systems. The group has demonstrated credential-access capabilities through browser-focused theft, including collection of saved passwords and browser session data from multiple browsers. It has also conducted file and directory discovery and used plugins to identify and collect documents of intelligence value from local and remote drives. Command execution has included abuse of PowerShell and VBScript. For persistence, Cloud Atlas has used Registry Run-key mechanisms and regsvr32-based startup execution. Its malware has used encrypted network communications, including AES, over web protocols such as HTTP and HTTPS, and has also used WebDAV for communications. Victimology associated with Cloud Atlas has prominently included Russian government and diplomatic entities, consistent with an espionage mission focused on document theft and long-term access.
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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.
Cloud Atlas is conducting phishing-led intrusions delivering a new Golang backdoor, CloudAtlasGo, while continuing to use earlier tooling such as VBShower and PowerShower. The group uses malicious documents exploiting Equation Editor flaws, then performs reconnaissance, credential theft, file theft, command execution, file transfer, proxying, and network scanning. The new backdoor uses WebRTC for C2 and cloud services such as Trello, as well as WebDAV or SFTP, for SDP signaling.
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.