Russian hackers are targeting US officials, says Microsoft
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Spear phishing involves sending tailored e-mails to individuals, including links to malicious websites that can then steal information.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON – Russian hackers are going after US government officials, defence workers and others in a new e-mail phishing campaign targeting thousands of people, according to Microsoft.
The hackers have sent “a series of highly targeted spear-phishing e-mails” to thousands of people in more than 100 organisations since Oct 22, according to a blog post from Microsoft Threat Intelligence published on Oct 29.
The latest campaign will add to mounting concerns over US failures to outwit suspected Russian and Chinese hackers.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Oct 25 that it was investigating unauthorised access by Chinese state-affiliated hackers
In some of the e-mails that were part of the latest campaign, the senders impersonated Microsoft employees, according to the blog.
Spear phishing involves sending tailored e-mails to individuals, including links to malicious websites that can then steal information.
It was not immediately clear how many of the attacks, if any, were successful.
Microsoft has said the attacks are perpetrated by a sophisticated Russian nation-state group it calls Midnight Blizzard, which US and British governments have connected to the SVR, the Russian foreign intelligence service.
The company said in January that the group attacked its corporate systems, getting into a “small number” of e-mail accounts, including those of senior leadership and employees who work in cyber security and legal.
In April, US federal agencies were ordered to analyse e-mails, reset compromised credentials and work to secure Microsoft accounts.
At the time, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa) said the incident represented a “grave and unacceptable risk” to agencies, according to the April directive.
Cisa and US State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. BLOOMBERG
