• Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
MUST READ

New Batavia spyware targets Russian industrial enterprises

 | 

Taiwan flags security risks in popular Chinese apps after official probe

 | 

U.S. CISA adds Google Chromium V8 flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

Hunters International ransomware gang shuts down and offers free decryption keys to all victims

 | 

SECURITY AFFAIRS MALWARE NEWSLETTER ROUND 52

 | 

Security Affairs newsletter Round 531 by Pierluigi Paganini – INTERNATIONAL EDITION

 | 

North Korea-linked threat actors spread macOS NimDoor malware via fake Zoom updates

 | 

Critical Sudo bugs expose major Linux distros to local Root exploits

 | 

Google fined $314M for misusing idle Android users' data

 | 

A flaw in Catwatchful spyware exposed logins of +62,000 users

 | 

China-linked group Houken hit French organizations using zero-days

 | 

Cybercriminals Target Brazil: 248,725 Exposed in CIEE One Data Breach

 | 

Europol shuts down Archetyp Market, longest-running dark web drug marketplace

 | 

Kelly Benefits data breach has impacted 550,000 people, and the situation continues to worsen as the investigation progresses

 | 

Cisco removed the backdoor account from its Unified Communications Manager

 | 

U.S. Sanctions Russia's Aeza Group for aiding crooks with bulletproof hosting

 | 

Qantas confirms customer data breach amid Scattered Spider attacks

 | 

CVE-2025-6554 is the fourth Chrome zero-day patched by Google in 2025

 | 

U.S. CISA adds TeleMessage TM SGNL flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

A sophisticated cyberattack hit the International Criminal Court

 | 
  • Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
  • Home
  • Breaking News
  • Cyber warfare
  • Hacking
  • ICS-SCADA
  • Internet of Things
  • Malware
  • IOCONTROL cyberweapon used to target infrastructure in the US and Isreael

IOCONTROL cyberweapon used to target infrastructure in the US and Isreael

Pierluigi Paganini December 14, 2024

Iran-linked threat actors target IoT and OT/SCADA systems in US and Israeli infrastructure with IOCONTROL malware.

Claroty’s Team82 obtained a sample of a custom-built IoT/OT malware called IOCONTROL used by the Iran-linked threat actors to target devices in infrastructure located in Israel and U.S..

According to the experts Iran-linked threat group CyberAv3ngers reportedly targeted fuel management systems in Israel and the U.S. using custom IoT malware, IOCONTROL, tied to geopolitical tensions.

The researchers believe that the malware is a cyberweapon developed by a nation-state actor to target civilian critical infrastructure.

IOCONTROL is a custom-built, modular malware that can run on a variety of platforms from different vendors..

IOCONTROL was used against multiple device families, including IP cameras, routers, PLCs, HMIs, firewalls, and more. The affected manufacturers include Baicells, D-Link, Hikvision, Red Lion, Orpak, Phoenix Contact, Teltonika, and Unitronics.

The CyberAv3ngers group is believed to be part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cyber Electronic Command (IRGC-CEC), they employed the malware in attacks against several hundred Israel-made Orpak Systems and U.S.-made Gasboy fuel management systems in Israel and the United States.

The Iranian group claims to have compromised 200 gas stations in Israel and the U.S. The attacks began in late 2023, coinciding with other industrial system breaches, and continued into mid-2024. The malware remained undetected by VirusTotal antivirus engines as of December 2024.

IOControl malware

The experts obtained a malware sample from a Gasboy fuel control system linked to Orpak Systems. Experts have yet to determine how the malware was deployed on the victim systems.

IOCONTROL was hiding inside Gasboy’s Payment Terminal (OrPT). An attacker with full control over the payment terminal means they could shut down fuel services and potentially steal credit card information from customers.

The malware maintains persistence by installing a backdoor on the device before connecting to the C2 infrastructure. The malicious code adds a new rc3.d boot script, which will be executed whenever the device restarts. The experts noticed that the backdoor is located in /etc/rc3.d/S93InitSystemd.sh.

The malware communicates with its C2 server using the MQTT protocol via port 8883, embedding unique device IDs in credentials for control. It employs DNS over HTTPS (DoH) to evade network monitoring tools and encrypts configurations with AES-256-CBC.

Below is the list of supported commands:

OpcodeCommandDescription
0Send “hello”Resend the MQTT hello message with basic device information
1Check execCheck that the malware is installed in /usr/bin/iocontrol and that it is executable, and publishes the string 1:1
2Execute commandExecute arbitrary OS command via system call and publishes the output
3Self-deleteStop the malware execution, as well as remove malware main binary, its persistence service, and related logs files. It then publishes the string 3:1
8Port scanScan an IP range in a specific port. The malware receives IP start, IP end and a port to scan. It then publishes the result.

“We’ve assessed that IOCONTROL is a cyberweapon used by a nation-state to attack civilian critical infrastructure.” concludes the report. “IOCONTROL is believed to be part of a global cyber operation against western IoT and operational technology (OT) devices”

The complete indicators of compromise (IoC) are listed at the bottom of the report.

Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon

Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs – hacking, IOCONTROL)


facebook linkedin twitter

cyberweapon hacking news information security news IOCONTROL IT Information Security malware Pierluigi Paganini Security Affairs Security News

you might also like

Pierluigi Paganini July 07, 2025
Taiwan flags security risks in popular Chinese apps after official probe
Read more
Pierluigi Paganini July 07, 2025
U.S. CISA adds Google Chromium V8 flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
Read more

leave a comment

newsletter

Subscribe to my email list and stay
up-to-date!

    recent articles

    New Batavia spyware targets Russian industrial enterprises

    Uncategorized / July 07, 2025

    Taiwan flags security risks in popular Chinese apps after official probe

    Security / July 07, 2025

    U.S. CISA adds Google Chromium V8 flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

    Hacking / July 07, 2025

    Hunters International ransomware gang shuts down and offers free decryption keys to all victims

    Cyber Crime / July 06, 2025

    SECURITY AFFAIRS MALWARE NEWSLETTER ROUND 52

    Security / July 06, 2025

    To contact me write an email to:

    Pierluigi Paganini :
    pierluigi.paganini@securityaffairs.co

    LEARN MORE

    QUICK LINKS

    • Home
    • Cyber Crime
    • Cyber warfare
    • APT
    • Data Breach
    • Deep Web
    • Digital ID
    • Hacking
    • Hacktivism
    • Intelligence
    • Internet of Things
    • Laws and regulations
    • Malware
    • Mobile
    • Reports
    • Security
    • Social Networks
    • Terrorism
    • ICS-SCADA
    • POLICIES
    • Contact me

    Copyright@securityaffairs 2024

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities...
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT