Threat Actor Profile
High APT
Description

FIN8 is a financially motivated threat group that has been active since at least January 2016, and known for targeting organizations in the hospitality, retail, entertainment, insurance, technology, chemical, and financial sectors. In June 2021, security researchers detected FIN8 switching from targeting point-of-sale (POS) devices to distributing a number of ransomware variants.(Citation: FireEye Obfuscation June 2017)(Citation: FireEye Fin8 May 2016)(Citation: Bitdefender Sardonic Aug 2021)(Citation: Symantec FIN8 Jul 2023)

Confidence Score
90%
Known Aliases
FIN8 Syssphinx
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 (36)
T1074.002 - Remote Data Staging
Collection
T1560.001 - Archive via Utility
Collection
T1071.001 - Web Protocols
Command and Control
T1102 - Web Service
Command and Control
T1105 - Ingress Tool Transfer
Command and Control
T1573.002 - Asymmetric Cryptography
Command and Control
T1003.001 - LSASS Memory
Credential Access
T1027.010 - Command Obfuscation
Defense Evasion
T1055.004 - Asynchronous Procedure Call
Defense Evasion
T1070.001 - Clear Windows Event Logs
Defense Evasion
T1070.004 - File Deletion
Defense Evasion
T1078 - Valid Accounts
Defense Evasion
T1112 - Modify Registry
Defense Evasion
T1134.001 - Token Impersonation/Theft
Defense Evasion
T1016.001 - Internet Connection Discovery
Discovery
T1018 - Remote System Discovery
Discovery
T1033 - System Owner/User Discovery
Discovery
T1082 - System Information Discovery
Discovery
T1482 - Domain Trust Discovery
Discovery
T1518.001 - Security Software Discovery
Discovery
T1047 - Windows Management Instrumentation
Execution
T1053.005 - Scheduled Task
Execution
T1059.001 - PowerShell
Execution
T1059.003 - Windows Command Shell
Execution
T1204.001 - Malicious Link
Execution
T1204.002 - Malicious File
Execution
T1048.003 - Exfiltration Over Unencrypted Non-C2 Pr…
Exfiltration
T1486 - Data Encrypted for Impact
Impact
T1566.001 - Spearphishing Attachment
Initial Access
T1566.002 - Spearphishing Link
Initial Access
T1021.001 - Remote Desktop Protocol
Lateral Movement
T1021.002 - SMB/Windows Admin Shares
Lateral Movement
T1068 - Exploitation for Privilege Escalation
Privilege Escalation
T1546.003 - Windows Management Instrumentation Even…
Privilege Escalation
T1588.002 - Tool
Resource Development
T1588.003 - Code Signing Certificates
Resource Development
Indicators of Compromise

Loading IOCs…

IOC KQL for Sentinel
STIX Data
{'aliases': ['FIN8', 'Syssphinx'],
 'created': '2018-04-18T17:59:24.739Z',
 'created_by_ref': 'identity--c78cb6e5-0c4b-4611-8297-d1b8b55e40b5',
 'description': '[FIN8](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0061) is a '
                'financially motivated threat group that has been active since '
                'at least January 2016, and known for targeting organizations '
                'in the hospitality, retail, entertainment, insurance, '
                'technology, chemical, and financial sectors. In June 2021, '
                'security researchers detected '
                '[FIN8](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0061) switching from '
                'targeting point-of-sale (POS) devices to distributing a '
                'number of ransomware variants.(Citation: FireEye Obfuscation '
                'June 2017)(Citation: FireEye Fin8 May 2016)(Citation: '
                'Bitdefender Sardonic Aug 2021)(Citation: Symantec FIN8 Jul '
                '2023)',
 'external_references': [{'external_id': 'G0061',
                          'source_name': 'mitre-attack',
                          'url': 'https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0061'},
                         {'description': '(Citation: FireEye Obfuscation June '
                                         '2017)',
                          'source_name': 'FIN8'},
                         {'description': '(Citation: Symantec FIN8 Jul 2023)',
                          'source_name': 'Syssphinx'},
                         {'description': 'Bohannon, D. & Carr N. (2017, June '
                                         '30). Obfuscation in the Wild: '
                                         'Targeted Attackers Lead the Way in '
                                         'Evasion Techniques. Retrieved '
                                         'February 12, 2018.',
                          'source_name': 'FireEye Obfuscation June 2017',
                          'url': 'https://web.archive.org/web/20170923102302/https://www.fireeye.com/blog/threat-research/2017/06/obfuscation-in-the-wild.html'},
                         {'description': 'Budaca, E., et al. (2021, August '
                                         '25). FIN8 Threat Actor Goes Agile '
                                         'with New Sardonic Backdoor. '
                                         'Retrieved August 9, 2023.',
                          'source_name': 'Bitdefender Sardonic Aug 2021',
                          'url': 'https://www.bitdefender.com/files/News/CaseStudies/study/401/Bitdefender-PR-Whitepaper-FIN8-creat5619-en-EN.pdf'},
                         {'description': 'Kizhakkinan, D., et al. (2016, May '
                                         '11). Threat Actor Leverages Windows '
                                         'Zero-day Exploit in Payment Card '
                                         'Data Attacks. Retrieved February 12, '
                                         '2018.',
                          'source_name': 'FireEye Fin8 May 2016',
                          'url': 'https://www.fireeye.com/blog/threat-research/2016/05/windows-zero-day-payment-cards.html'},
                         {'description': 'Symantec Threat Hunter Team. (2023, '
                                         'July 18). FIN8 Uses Revamped '
                                         'Sardonic Backdoor to Deliver Noberus '
                                         'Ransomware. Retrieved August 9, '
                                         '2023.',
                          'source_name': 'Symantec FIN8 Jul 2023',
                          'url': 'https://symantec-enterprise-blogs.security.com/blogs/threat-intelligence/syssphinx-fin8-backdoor'}],
 'id': 'intrusion-set--fd19bd82-1b14-49a1-a176-6cdc46b8a826',
 'modified': '2025-04-16T20:37:35.846Z',
 'name': 'FIN8',
 '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_contributors': ['Daniyal Naeem, BT Security',
                          'Serhii Melnyk, Trustwave SpiderLabs'],
 'x_mitre_deprecated': False,
 'x_mitre_domains': ['enterprise-attack'],
 'x_mitre_modified_by_ref': 'identity--c78cb6e5-0c4b-4611-8297-d1b8b55e40b5',
 'x_mitre_version': '2.0'}
Quick Actions
Related TTPs (36)
Remote Data Staging
Collection

Archive via Utility
Collection

Web Protocols
Command and Control

Web Service
Command and Control

Ingress Tool Transfer
Command and Control