SideWinder APT Targets Maritime, Nuclear, and IT Sectors Across Asia, Middle East, and Africa
Mar 11, 2025
Cyber Espionage / Maritime Security
Maritime and logistics companies in South and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa have become the target of an advanced persistent threat (APT) group dubbed SideWinder. The attacks, observed by Kaspersky in 2024, spread across Bangladesh, Cambodia, Djibouti, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. Other targets of interest include nuclear power plants and nuclear energy infrastructure in South Asia and Africa, as well as telecommunication, consulting, IT service companies, real estate agencies, and hotels. In what appears to be a wider expansion of its victimology footprint, SideWinder has also targeted diplomatic entities in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bulgaria, China, India, the Maldives, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Uganda. The targeting of India is significant as the threat actor was previously suspected to be of Indian origin. "It is worth noting that SideWinder constantly works to improve its toolsets, stay ahead of security software detections, extend per...