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Threat Actor Characterization

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Mahdi Lashgarian

Mahdi Lashgarian

ID: bd1c4dda869dd9a6f9450fcc24ef675b53497
Cybercrime Cyber Espionage Cybercriminal Hacktivist
Threat types: Hacktivism
Unknown
Updated: 2026-03-19
Created: 2026-03-19
Progress: 69% Completeness: 69% Freshness: 70%
Operation zone:
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Mehdi Lashgarian مهدی لشگریان
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Open Network Graph
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MITRE ATT&CK®

Mahdi Lashgarian is a publicly named senior official of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cyber-Electronic Command (IRGC-CEC). Open reporting ties him to the command environment behind CyberAv3ngers-linked critical-infrastructure targeting and to a broader IRGC-CEC ecosystem that includes proxy branding and OT/IoT-focused activity.


Technique Technique name Tactics Evidence
T1110 Brute Force TA0006
  • 2023-12-02 — Joint advisory reporting on IRGC-affiliated Unitronics compromise showed abuse of default credentials. INFERENCE (confidence: high): as a senior IRGC-CEC official publicly associated with CyberAv3ngers-linked activity, Mahdi Lashgarian is linked at the supervisory level to this credential-abuse pattern. · ref
T1078 Valid Accounts TA0001 TA0003 TA0004 TA0005
  • 2023-12-02 — IRGC-affiliated actors used valid default credentials to access exposed Unitronics devices. This valid-account pattern is central to the CyberAv3ngers ecosystem publicly tied to Mahdi Lashgarian. · ref
T1491.001 Internal Defacement TA0040
  • 2023-12-02 — Compromised Unitronics HMIs displayed anti-Israel defacement messaging attributed to CyberAv3ngers-linked operations. · ref
T1565.001 Stored Data Manipulation TA0040
  • 2023-12-02 — Public advisory reporting indicates interface and project manipulation on compromised HMI devices. INFERENCE (confidence: medium-high): this aligns with stored data manipulation in the ecosystem tied to Mahdi Lashgarian. · ref
T1595 Active Scanning TA0043
  • 2024-05-30 — Microsoft documented a common attack methodology focused on discovering internet-exposed, poorly secured OT systems in CyberAv3ngers-linked activity. · ref
T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer TA0011
  • 2024-12-10 — Claroty described IOCONTROL as a modular Linux-based OT/IoT malware framework communicating with attacker-controlled infrastructure. INFERENCE (confidence: medium): this reflects ingress and egress tool transfer behavior in the ecosystem publicly associated with Mahdi Lashgarian. · ref
T1583.001 Domains TA0042
  • 2024-04-23 — Treasury designated front companies and affiliated operators acting for or on behalf of IRGC-CEC. INFERENCE (confidence: medium-high): Mahdi Lashgarian operates within a command environment that relies on organizationally acquired or controlled infrastructure and support structures. · ref
Strategic Intelligence
Limited preview
Last updated: 2026-03-20T02:41:06+00:00

Mahdi Lashgarian

Classification: Unclassified / Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) — TLP:WHITE

Author: iQBlack Team


Executive Summary

Mahdi Lashgarian is publicly identified by the U.S. Department of the Treasury as a senior official of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cyber-Electronic Command (IRGC-CEC). Public sanctions and reward reporting also place him inside the same leadership environment linked to CyberAv3ngers activity targeting exposed industrial control assets and, later, to a broader Iran-linked OT/IoT malware and proxy-brand ecosystem.


Unlike public-facing handles or propaganda personas, Mahdi Lashgarian appears in open sources as a named state official rather than as a visible online operator. His analytical importance therefore comes from organizational position and repeated public linkage to IRGC-CEC-related malicious cyber activity, not from a rich trail of personal social-media presence, leaked chats, or directly observed hands-on-keyboard tradecraft.

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Executive Analyst Brief for CISO
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Executive Analyst Brief for CISO — Mahdi Lashgarian

Classification: Unclassified / Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) — TLP:WHITE

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Hunting Playbook
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Hunting Playbook — Mahdi Lashgarian

Classification: TLP:WHITE

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IOC Appendix
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Last updated: 2026-03-20T02:43:15+00:00

IOC Appendix — Mahdi Lashgarian

Classification: TLP:WHITE

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OSINT Library
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Last saved: 2026-03-20T02:43:27+00:00

OSINT Library — Mahdi Lashgarian


2024-02-02 — U.S. Department of the Treasury — “Treasury Sanctions Actors Responsible for Malicious Cyber Activities on Critical Infrastructure”

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Social Medial & Communication
SOCMINT integrated: 0/0

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