Transparent Tribe / APT36 (also known as APT36, Mythic Leopard, ProjectM, Earth Karkaddan) is a state-sponsored advanced persistent threat group attributed to Pakistan (ISI-linked), active since 2013. The group primarily targets Indian military, government, education sectors. It is tracked by MITRE ATT&CK as G0134.
Overview & Attribution
Pakistan-linked APT persistently targeting Indian military and government with CrimsonRAT, fake romance apps, and Android malware for espionage operations.
Transparent Tribe has been active since 2013, attributed to Pakistan (ISI-linked). The group is known for targeting Indian military, government, education using a combination of custom malware, living-off-the-land techniques, and sophisticated social engineering.
- Attribution: Pakistan (ISI-linked)
- Active since: 2013
- Primary targets: Indian military, government, education
- Also known as: APT36, Mythic Leopard, ProjectM, Earth Karkaddan
Arsenal & Tools
Transparent Tribe employs a diverse arsenal of custom and shared tooling:
- CrimsonRAT: Custom/shared tooling used in operations
- ObliqueRAT: Custom/shared tooling used in operations
- CapraRAT (Android): Custom/shared tooling used in operations
- Poseidon: Custom/shared tooling used in operations
Targeting & Operations
The group focuses on Indian military, government, education sectors, with operations spanning multiple geographic regions. Their campaigns typically involve carefully crafted spearphishing, strategic watering holes, and exploitation of public-facing applications.
Transparent Tribe is characterized by persistent, long-term access operations. Once inside a target network, the group establishes multiple redundant persistence mechanisms and moves laterally to high-value systems before beginning data exfiltration.
MITRE ATT&CK Mapping
| Tactic | Technique | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Initial Access | T1566.001 Phishing Attachment | Military-themed spearphishing |
| Execution | T1204.002 Malicious File | Macro-enabled documents |
| Persistence | T1547.001 Registry Run Keys | Registry persistence |
| Collection | T1056.001 Keylogging | CrimsonRAT keylogger |
| Collection | T1125 Video Capture | Webcam surveillance |
| C2 | T1095 Non-Application Layer | Custom TCP C2 protocol |
Notable Campaigns
Transparent Tribe has been linked to multiple significant campaigns targeting Indian military, government, education organizations. The group continuously evolves its tooling and infrastructure to evade detection while maintaining persistent access to compromised networks.
- Long-term espionage: Multi-year intrusions into government and defense networks
- Supply chain targeting: Compromise of technology providers and managed service providers
- Zero-day exploitation: Use of previously unknown vulnerabilities for initial access
Detection & Defense
- Threat intelligence integration: Monitor for known Transparent Tribe IOCs and TTPs in SIEM/EDR platforms
- Network monitoring: Detect C2 patterns associated with CrimsonRAT and related tooling
- Email security: Implement advanced phishing detection for spearphishing campaigns
- Endpoint detection: Deploy behavioral detection rules for known Transparent Tribe TTPs
- Patch management: Prioritize patching of vulnerabilities known to be exploited by this group
- Lateral movement detection: Monitor for suspicious authentication patterns and admin tool usage
Defend Against Transparent Tribe
Mjolnir Security provides specialized capabilities to detect and respond to Transparent Tribe operations.
- APT Threat Hunting Proactive hunting for Transparent Tribe TTPs, tooling artifacts, and infrastructure indicators within your environment.
- Threat Intelligence Continuous monitoring of Transparent Tribe campaigns and infrastructure changes with actionable intelligence for your defense team.
- 24/7 Incident Response Rapid containment and forensic investigation. Call +1 833 403 5875.
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