• 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

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

 | 

Critical Sudo bugs expose major Linux distros to local Root exploits

 | 

Google fined $314M for misusing idle Android users' data

 | 

A flaw in Catwatchful spyware exposed logins of +62,000 users

 | 

China-linked group Houken hit French organizations using zero-days

 | 

Cybercriminals Target Brazil: 248,725 Exposed in CIEE One Data Breach

 | 

Europol shuts down Archetyp Market, longest-running dark web drug marketplace

 | 

Kelly Benefits data breach has impacted 550,000 people, and the situation continues to worsen as the investigation progresses

 | 

Cisco removed the backdoor account from its Unified Communications Manager

 | 

U.S. Sanctions Russia's Aeza Group for aiding crooks with bulletproof hosting

 | 
  • 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 warfare
  • Hacking
  • Intelligence
  • Microsoft links Cadet Blizzard APT to Russia’s military intelligence GRU

Microsoft links Cadet Blizzard APT to Russia’s military intelligence GRU

Pierluigi Paganini June 14, 2023

Microsoft linked a series of wiping attacks to a Russia-linked APT group, tracked as Cadet Blizzard, that is under the control of the GRU.

Microsoft attributes the operations carried out by the Russia-linked APT group tracked as Cadet Blizzard to the Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU). The IT giant pointed out that Cadet Blizzard is distinct from other known APT groups operating under the control of the Russian military intelligence GRU, such as Forest Blizzard (STRONTIUM) and Seashell Blizzard (IRIDIUM). 

Unlike other Russia-linked APT group, CadetBlizzard operations are extremely disruptive.

Cadet Blizzard

The Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) initially tracked Cadet Blizzard as DEV-0586, the group was observed conducting destructive malware attacks against multiple organizations in Ukraine in January 2022.  

The activity of the group was spotted a month before the invasion of Ukraine, Cadet Blizzard is the group that created and deployed the WhisperGate wiper. The group was also observed defacing the website of several Ukrainian organizations.

Microsoft believes that the group has been active since at least 2020, it focused on government services, law enforcement, non-profit/non-governmental organizations, IT service providers/consulting, and emergency services in Ukraine.

“Cadet Blizzard is a Russian GRU-sponsored threat group that Microsoft began tracking following disruptive and destructive events occurring at multiple government agencies in Ukraine in mid-January 2022.” reads the report published by Microsoft. “Cadet Blizzard compromises and maintains a foothold on affected networks for months, often exfiltrating data prior to disruptive actions. Microsoft observed Cadet Blizzard’s activity peak between January and June 2022, followed by an extended period of reduced activity.”

Micorosft observed a new surge in the activity of the group in January 2023, when the APT conducted multiple operations against entities in Ukraine and in Europe. The researcher noticed that the APT group is active seven days of the week and conducted their operations during their primary European targets’ off-business hours. The researchers warn that the APT group may target NATO member states supporting the military operations of the Ukrainian government.

Microsoft provided indicators of compromise to investigate environments and assess for potential compromise.

Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, GRU)


facebook linkedin twitter

Cadet Blizzard GRU Hacking hacking news IT Information Security Pierluigi Paganini Security Affairs Security News Ukraine

you might also like

Pierluigi Paganini July 08, 2025
Microsoft Patch Tuesday security updates for July 2025 fixed a zero-day
Read more
Pierluigi Paganini July 08, 2025
Italian police arrested a Chinese national suspected of cyberespionage on a U.S. warrant
Read more

leave a comment

newsletter

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

    recent articles

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

    Security / July 08, 2025

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

    Intelligence / July 08, 2025

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

    Hacking / July 08, 2025

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

    Cyber Crime / July 08, 2025

    New Batavia spyware targets Russian industrial enterprises

    Malware / July 07, 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