Russian hacking group targeted US military contractors

A hacking group tied to Russian intelligence tried to worm its means into the programs of dozens of Western suppose tanks, journalists and former navy and intelligence officers, Microsoft and U.S. authorities stated Thursday.

The group, often known as Star Blizzard to cyberespionage consultants, focused its victims with emails that appeared to return from a trusted supply — a tactic often known as spear phishing. In truth, the emails sought entry to the victims’ inner programs, as a method to steal data and disrupt their actions.

Star Blizzard’s actions had been persistent and complex, in line with Microsoft, and the group usually did detailed analysis on its targets earlier than launching an assault. Star Blizzard additionally went after civil society teams, U.S. corporations, American navy contractors and the Division of Vitality, which oversees many nuclear applications, the corporate stated.

On Thursday, a U.S. court docket unsealed paperwork authorizing Microsoft and the Division of Justice to grab greater than 100 web site domains related to Star Blizzard. That motion got here after a lawsuit was filed towards the community by Microsoft and the NGO-Info Sharing and Evaluation Heart, a nonprofit tech group that investigated Star Blizzard.

Authorities have not gone into particulars about Star Blizzard’s effectiveness however stated they anticipate Russia to maintain deploying hacking and cyberattacks towards the U.S. and its allies.

“The Russian authorities ran this scheme to steal Individuals’ delicate data, utilizing seemingly professional e-mail accounts to trick victims into revealing account credentials,” Deputy Lawyer Common Lisa Monaco stated in saying the U.S. actions towards Star Blizzard. “With the continued assist of our non-public sector companions, we can be relentless in exposing Russian actors and cybercriminals and depriving them of the instruments of their illicit commerce.”

Star Blizzard has been linked to Russia’s Federal Safety Service, or FSB. Final 12 months, British authorities accused the group of mounting a yearslong cyberespionage marketing campaign towards U.Okay. lawmakers. Microsoft stated it has been monitoring the group’s actions since 2017.

Microsoft stated it noticed Star Blizzard try dozens of hacking efforts concentrating on 30 totally different teams since January 2023. The tech big’s cybersecurity consultants say Star Blizzard has confirmed to be particularly elusive.

“Star Blizzard’s capability to adapt and obfuscate its id presents a unbroken problem for cybersecurity professionals,” the corporate wrote in a report on its findings.

U.S. authorities charged two Russian males final 12 months in reference to Star Blizzard’s previous actions. Each are believed to be in Russia.

Together with American targets, Star Blizzard went after folks and teams all through Europe and in different NATO international locations. Many had supported Ukraine following Russia’s invasion.

A message left with the Russian Embassy in Washington was not instantly returned Thursday.