APT / THREAT GROUP

MESSAGETAP

aliases

Last seen:Mar 17, 2026

Intelligence Profile

MESSAGETAP is a 64-bit ELF data miner initially loaded by an installation script. It is designed to monitor and save SMS traffic from specific phone numbers, IMSI numbers and keywords for subsequent theft.

Threat Analysis

MESSAGETAP is a known-sophistication threat actor of undetermined national origin, engaged in cyber operations with a primary motivation of unknown activity patterns.

External References

→https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0096

→https://go.crowdstrike.com/rs/281-OBQ-266/images/Report2020CrowdStrikeGlobalThreatReport.pdf

→https://intezer.com/blog/linux/elf-malware-analysis-101-linux-threats-no-longer-an-afterthought

→https://securelist.com/an-overview-of-targeted-attacks-and-apts-on-linux/98440/

→https://summit.fireeye.com/content/dam/fireeye-www/summit/cds-2019/presentations/cds19-executive-s08-achievement-unlocked.pdf

Quick Facts

TypeAPT / Threat Group

Aliases2

Also Known As

elf.messagetapMESSAGETAP

External Intelligence

Malpedia: elf.messagetap

Research Links

MITRE ATT&CK VirusTotal Google (news) Twitter/X search

Data sourced from Malpedia, Ransomware.live, RansomLook, and CTIWATCH OSINT collection. Actor attribution is based on available intelligence and may be incomplete.

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