Mysterious ‘SmudgedSerpent’ Hackers Target U.S. Policy Experts Amid Iran–Israel Tensions

A never-before-seen threat activity cluster codenamed UNK_SmudgedSerpent has been attributed as behind a set of cyber attacks targeting academics and foreign policy experts between June and August 2025, coinciding with heightened geopolitical tensions between Iran and Israel.
“UNK_SmudgedSerpent leveraged domestic political lures, including societal change in Iran and investigation into the