• Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
MUST READ

Athlete or Hacker? Russian basketball player accused in U.S. ransomware case

 | 

U.S. CISA adds Citrix NetScaler ADC and Gateway flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

UK NCA arrested four people over M&S, Co-op cyberattacks

 | 

PerfektBlue Bluetooth attack allows hacking infotainment systems of Mercedes, Volkswagen, and Skoda

 | 

Qantas data breach impacted 5.7 million individuals

 | 

DoNot APT is expanding scope targeting European foreign ministries

 | 

Nippon Steel Solutions suffered a data breach following a zero-day attack

 | 

Iranian group Pay2Key.I2P ramps Up ransomware attacks against Israel and US with incentives for affiliates

 | 

Hackers weaponize Shellter red teaming tool to spread infostealers

 | 

Microsoft Patch Tuesday security updates for July 2025 fixed a zero-day

 | 

Italian police arrested a Chinese national suspected of cyberespionage on a U.S. warrant

 | 

U.S. CISA adds MRLG, PHPMailer, Rails Ruby on Rails, and Synacor Zimbra Collaboration Suite flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

IT Worker arrested for selling access in $100M PIX cyber heist

 | 

New Batavia spyware targets Russian industrial enterprises

 | 

Taiwan flags security risks in popular Chinese apps after official probe

 | 

U.S. CISA adds Google Chromium V8 flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

Hunters International ransomware gang shuts down and offers free decryption keys to all victims

 | 

SECURITY AFFAIRS MALWARE NEWSLETTER ROUND 52

 | 

Security Affairs newsletter Round 531 by Pierluigi Paganini – INTERNATIONAL EDITION

 | 

North Korea-linked threat actors spread macOS NimDoor malware via fake Zoom updates

 | 
  • Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
  • Home
  • APT
  • Breaking News
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • Hacking
  • Malware
  • Russia-linked IRIDIUM APT linked to Prestige ransomware attacks against Ukraine

Russia-linked IRIDIUM APT linked to Prestige ransomware attacks against Ukraine

Pierluigi Paganini November 11, 2022

Microsoft linked Prestige ransomware attacks against organizations in Ukraine and Poland to Russia-linked threat actors.

In Mid-October, Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) researchers uncovered previously undetected ransomware, tracked as Prestige ransomware, employed in attacks targeting organizations in the transportation and related logistics industries in Ukraine and Poland.

Microsoft has identified a new ransomware strain "Prestige" in limited targeted attacks in Ukraine and Poland. Several notable features differentiate this ransomware from other campaigns and payloads tracked by MSTIC. Get TTPs and protection info: https://t.co/4E3gaj1K7b

— Microsoft Threat Intelligence (@MsftSecIntel) October 14, 2022

The Prestige ransomware first appeared in the threat landscape on October 11 in attacks occurring within an hour of each other across all victims.

A notable feature of this campaign is that it is uncommon to observe the threat actors attempting to deploy ransomware into the networks of Ukrainian enterprises.

The campaign shares victimology with recent operations conducted by Russia-linked threat actors.

In an update provided by Microsoft this week, MSTIC attributed the campaign to the IRIDIUM (aka Sandworm) cyberespionage group.

Sandworm (aka BlackEnergy and TeleBots) has been active since 2000, it operates under the control of Unit 74455 of the Russian GRU’s Main Center for Special Technologies (GTsST).

The group is also the author of the NotPetya ransomware that hit hundreds of companies worldwide in June 2017, causing billions worth of damage.

In April, Sandworm targeted energy facilities in Ukraine with a new strain of the Industroyer ICS malware (INDUSTROYER2) and a new version of the CaddyWiper wiper.

The APT hacking group is believed to have been behind numerous attacks this year, including an attack on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and the deployment of a persistent botnet called “Cyclops Blink” dismantled by the US government in April.

From August 2022, Recorded Future researchers observed a rise in command and control (C2) infrastructure used by Sandworm (tracked by Ukraine’s CERT-UA as UAC-0113).

The researchers observed C2 infrastructure relying on dynamic DNS domains masquerading as Ukrainian telecommunication service providers.

Microsoft’s attribution to IRIDIUM is based on forensic artifacts, as well as overlaps in victimology, TTPs, and infrastructure, with the Russia-linked APT group.

“The Prestige campaign may highlight a measured shift in IRIDIUM’s destructive attack calculus, signaling increased risk to organizations directly supplying or transporting humanitarian or military assistance to Ukraine. More broadly, it may represent an increased risk to organizations in Eastern Europe that may be considered by the Russian state to be providing support relating to the war.” MSTIC said.

MSTIC researchers observed threat actors using three methods to deploy the Prestige ransomware:

  • Method 1: The ransomware payload is copied to the ADMIN$ share of a remote system, and Impacket is used to remotely create a Windows Scheduled Task on target systems to execute the payload
  • Method 2: The ransomware payload is copied to the ADMIN$ share of a remote system, and Impacket is used to remotely invoke an encoded PowerShell command on target systems to execute the payload
  • Method 3: The ransomware payload is copied to an Active Directory Domain Controller and deployed to systems using the Default Domain Group Policy Object
prestige ransomware ALL

Microsoft published a list of indicators of compromise (IOCs) and advanced hunting queries detect Prestige ransomware infections.

Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon

[adrotate banner=”9″][adrotate banner=”12″]

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, Prestige ransomware)

[adrotate banner=”5″]

[adrotate banner=”13″]


facebook linkedin twitter

APT hacking news information security news IT Information Security malware Pierluigi Paganini Prestige ransomware Russia Sandworm Security Affairs Ukraine

you might also like

Pierluigi Paganini July 11, 2025
U.S. CISA adds Citrix NetScaler ADC and Gateway flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
Read more
Pierluigi Paganini July 10, 2025
UK NCA arrested four people over M&S, Co-op cyberattacks
Read more

leave a comment

newsletter

Subscribe to my email list and stay
up-to-date!

    recent articles

    Athlete or Hacker? Russian basketball player accused in U.S. ransomware case

    Uncategorized / July 11, 2025

    U.S. CISA adds Citrix NetScaler ADC and Gateway flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

    Hacking / July 11, 2025

    UK NCA arrested four people over M&S, Co-op cyberattacks

    Cyber Crime / July 10, 2025

    PerfektBlue Bluetooth attack allows hacking infotainment systems of Mercedes, Volkswagen, and Skoda

    Hacking / July 10, 2025

    Qantas data breach impacted 5.7 million individuals

    Data Breach / July 10, 2025

    To contact me write an email to:

    Pierluigi Paganini :
    pierluigi.paganini@securityaffairs.co

    LEARN MORE

    QUICK LINKS

    • Home
    • Cyber Crime
    • Cyber warfare
    • APT
    • Data Breach
    • Deep Web
    • Digital ID
    • Hacking
    • Hacktivism
    • Intelligence
    • Internet of Things
    • Laws and regulations
    • Malware
    • Mobile
    • Reports
    • Security
    • Social Networks
    • Terrorism
    • ICS-SCADA
    • POLICIES
    • Contact me

    Copyright@securityaffairs 2024

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities...
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT