Threat Actor Profile
High APT
Description

Nomadic Octopus is a Russian-speaking cyber espionage threat group that has primarily targeted Central Asia, including local governments, diplomatic missions, and individuals, since at least 2014. Nomadic Octopus has been observed conducting campaigns involving Android and Windows malware, mainly using the Delphi programming language, and building custom variants.(Citation: Security Affairs DustSquad Oct 2018)(Citation: Securelist Octopus Oct 2018)(Citation: ESET Nomadic Octopus 2018)

Confidence Score
90%
Known Aliases
Nomadic Octopus DustSquad
Tags
mitre-attack stix-2.1 intrusion-set
First Seen

Unknown

Last Updated

Unknown

Active Status
Active
Created

April 29, 2026

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques (7)
T1105 - Ingress Tool Transfer
Command and Control
T1036 - Masquerading
Defense Evasion
T1564.003 - Hidden Window
Defense Evasion
T1059.001 - PowerShell
Execution
T1059.003 - Windows Command Shell
Execution
T1204.002 - Malicious File
Execution
T1566.001 - Spearphishing Attachment
Initial Access
Indicators of Compromise

Loading IOCs…

IOC KQL for Sentinel
STIX Data
{'aliases': ['Nomadic Octopus', 'DustSquad'],
 'created': '2021-08-24T17:04:27.002Z',
 'created_by_ref': 'identity--c78cb6e5-0c4b-4611-8297-d1b8b55e40b5',
 'description': '\n'
                '[Nomadic Octopus](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0133) is a '
                'Russian-speaking cyber espionage threat group that has '
                'primarily targeted Central Asia, including local governments, '
                'diplomatic missions, and individuals, since at least 2014. '
                '[Nomadic Octopus](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0133) has '
                'been observed conducting campaigns involving Android and '
                'Windows malware, mainly using the Delphi programming '
                'language, and building custom variants.(Citation: Security '
                'Affairs DustSquad Oct 2018)(Citation: Securelist Octopus Oct '
                '2018)(Citation: ESET Nomadic Octopus 2018)',
 'external_references': [{'external_id': 'G0133',
                          'source_name': 'mitre-attack',
                          'url': 'https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0133'},
                         {'description': '(Citation: Security Affairs '
                                         'DustSquad Oct 2018)(Citation: '
                                         'Securelist Octopus Oct '
                                         '2018)(Citation: SecurityWeek Nomadic '
                                         'Octopus Oct 2018)',
                          'source_name': 'DustSquad'},
                         {'description': '(Citation: SecurityWeek Nomadic '
                                         'Octopus Oct 2018)(Citation: ESET '
                                         'Nomadic Octopus 2018)',
                          'source_name': 'Nomadic Octopus'},
                         {'description': 'Cherepanov, A. (2018, October 4). '
                                         'Nomadic Octopus Cyber espionage in '
                                         'Central Asia. Retrieved October 13, '
                                         '2021.',
                          'source_name': 'ESET Nomadic Octopus 2018',
                          'url': 'https://www.virusbulletin.com/uploads/pdf/conference_slides/2018/Cherepanov-VB2018-Octopus.pdf'},
                         {'description': "Kaspersky Lab's Global Research & "
                                         'Analysis Team. (2018, October 15). '
                                         'Octopus-infested seas of Central '
                                         'Asia. Retrieved November 14, 2018.',
                          'source_name': 'Securelist Octopus Oct 2018',
                          'url': 'https://securelist.com/octopus-infested-seas-of-central-asia/88200/'},
                         {'description': 'Kovacs, E. (2018, October 18). '
                                         'Russia-Linked Hackers Target '
                                         'Diplomatic Entities in Central Asia. '
                                         'Retrieved October 13, 2021.',
                          'source_name': 'SecurityWeek Nomadic Octopus Oct '
                                         '2018',
                          'url': 'https://www.securityweek.com/russia-linked-hackers-target-diplomatic-entities-central-asia'},
                         {'description': 'Paganini, P. (2018, October 16). '
                                         'Russia-linked APT group DustSquad '
                                         'targets diplomatic entities in '
                                         'Central Asia. Retrieved August 24, '
                                         '2021.',
                          'source_name': 'Security Affairs DustSquad Oct 2018',
                          'url': 'https://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/77165/apt/russia-linked-apt-dustsquad.html'}],
 'id': 'intrusion-set--fed4f0a2-4347-4530-b0f5-6dfd49b29172',
 'modified': '2025-04-16T20:37:36.955Z',
 'name': 'Nomadic Octopus',
 'object_marking_refs': ['marking-definition--fa42a846-8d90-4e51-bc29-71d5b4802168'],
 'revoked': False,
 'spec_version': '2.1',
 'type': 'intrusion-set',
 'x_mitre_attack_spec_version': '3.2.0',
 'x_mitre_deprecated': False,
 'x_mitre_domains': ['enterprise-attack'],
 'x_mitre_modified_by_ref': 'identity--c78cb6e5-0c4b-4611-8297-d1b8b55e40b5',
 'x_mitre_version': '1.0'}
Quick Actions
Related TTPs (7)
Ingress Tool Transfer
Command and Control

Masquerading
Defense Evasion

Hidden Window
Defense Evasion

PowerShell
Execution

Windows Command Shell
Execution