Home Russian hackers intensify spear-phishing attacks on US targets, Microsoft warns

Russian hackers intensify spear-phishing attacks on US targets, Microsoft warns

Russian hackers have been sending a series of highly targeted spear-phishing emails to US government officials, academia, defense, and non-governmental organizations, according to Microsoft.

On Tuesday (Oct 29), the tech firm said in a blog post that based on its investigation of previous Midnight Blizzard spear-phishing campaigns, it assessed that the goal of this operation is “likely intelligence collection.”

It added that the threat actor had sent spear-phishing emails to “thousands of targets in over 100 organizations and contained a signed Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) configuration file that connected to an actor-controlled server.”

The company also stated that in some instances, hackers impersonated Microsoft employees, as well as other cloud providers. The term phishing refers to using links in social media and email to lure users to visit a malicious website or to download a malicious file. Spear phishing uses the same principle but targets individuals rather than a mass audience.

The latest campaign intensifies growing concerns about the United States’ challenges in countering suspected Russian and Chinese hackers. On Friday (Oct. 25), the FBI announced it is investigating unauthorized access by Chinese state-linked hackers targeting the commercial telecommunications sector.

Microsoft describes Midnight Blizzard as a Russian threat actor attributed by the US and United Kingdom governments to the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation, also known as the SVR.

Microsoft says Russian hackers ‘consistent and persistent’

Throughout the year, the company has said the group has attacked several systems. ReadWrite reported in July that Midnight Blizzard may have accessed customers’ emails following a 2023 breach, using a password spray attack.

While in January, Microsoft confirmed it was the subject of a hacking attack in what is said to have been a targeted recon mission.

The hackers, also known as APT29, Cozy Bear, and Nobelium, are considered responsible for the 2020 infiltration of SolarWinds’ Orion platform.

The tech giant has said: “Midnight Blizzard is consistent and persistent in its operational targeting, and its objectives rarely change.”

Featured image: Ideogram

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The ReadWrite Editorial policy involves closely monitoring the tech industry for major developments, new product launches, AI breakthroughs, video game releases and other newsworthy events. Editors assign relevant stories to staff writers or freelance contributors with expertise in each particular topic area. Before publication, articles go through a rigorous round of editing for accuracy, clarity, and to ensure adherence to ReadWrite's style guidelines.

Suswati Basu
Tech journalist

Suswati Basu is a multilingual, award-winning editor and the founder of the intersectional literature channel, How To Be Books. She was shortlisted for the Guardian Mary Stott Prize and longlisted for the Guardian International Development Journalism Award. With 18 years of experience in the media industry, Suswati has held significant roles such as head of audience and deputy editor for NationalWorld news, digital editor for Channel 4 News and ITV News. She has also contributed to the Guardian and received training at the BBC As an audience, trends, and SEO specialist, she has participated in panel events alongside Google. Her…

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