The US prevented the activities of a Russian hacking group

2024-10-03 21:42:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

A group of hackers linked to Russian intelligence has been prevented from carrying out their activities, Microsoft and US authorities said on October 3.

US officials say the group tried to break into the computer systems of former US military and intelligence personnel, as well as those of non-governmental organizations, US companies and others.

A US court has filed documents to authorize Microsoft and the US Department of Justice to seize more than 100 domain names linked to the hacker group known as Star Blizzard's Callisto Group.

"This seizure is part of a coordinated response with our private sector partners to destroy the infrastructure that cyber espionage actors use to attack US and international targets," said U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, Ismail J. .Ramsey.

The group targeted individuals with emails that appeared to come from a trusted source, a tactic known as "spear phishing," the US Department of Justice said in a news release. Once the links within these emails were opened, hackers attempted to access the victims' internal systems to steal data and disrupt their activities.

According to Microsoft, Star Blizzard's actions were persistent and sophisticated. This group often did detailed preliminary research on anyone they intended to attack. Star Blizzard also targeted civil society groups, US companies, US military contractors and the US Department of Energy, which oversees many nuclear programs, the company said.

Authorities have not elaborated on whether or not Star Blizzard's activities were successful, but said they expect Russia to continue to use the hackers in cyber attacks against Washington and its allies. The United States has vowed to remain open.

"With the continued support of our private sector partners, we will be relentless in exposing Russian actors and cybercriminals and depriving them of the tools of their illicit trade," Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in the statement of the Department of Justice.

US authorities indicted two Russian men last year in connection with Star Blizzard's previous actions. Both are believed to be in Russia.

Star Blizzard also attacked people and groups across Europe and other NATO countries, the Justice Department said. Many of them had supported Ukraine after the invasion by Russia./REL