Pierluigi Paganini
December 07, 2023
The UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and Microsoft reported that the Russia-linked APT group Callisto Group is targeting organizations worldwide. The nation-state actor is carrying out spear-phishing attacks for cyberespionage purposes.
The Callisto APT group (aka “Seaborgium“, “Star Blizzard”, “ColdRiver”, “TA446”) targeted government officials, military personnel, journalists and think tanks since at least 2015.
In the past, the group’s activity involved persistent phishing and credential theft campaigns leading to intrusions and data theft. The APT primarily targets NATO countries, but experts also observed campaigns targeting the Baltics, Nordics, and Eastern Europe regions, including Ukraine.
This week, the Reddit security team attributed the leak of US-UK trade documents through its platform to a coordinated information campaign linked to Russia.
“We were recently made aware of a post on Reddit that included leaked documents from the UK,” the statement said. “We investigated this account and the accounts connected to it, and today we believe this was part of a campaign that has been reported as originating from Russia.”
“Earlier this year Facebook discovered a Russian campaign on its platform, which was further analyzed by the Atlantic Council and dubbed ‘Secondary Infektion,’” Reddit’s announcement said. “Suspect accounts on Reddit were recently reported to us, along with indicators from law enforcement, and we were able to confirm that they did indeed show a pattern of coordination.”
According to a press release published by the UK government, the UK and its allies observed a series of attempts by the Russian Intelligence Services to target high-profile individuals and entities through cyber operations. The nation-state actor aimed at obtaining information to interfere in UK politics and democratic processes.
The UK Government linked the activity to Centre 18, a unit within Russia’s Intelligence Services FSB tracked as Star Blizzard.
“While some attacks resulted in documents being leaked, attempts to interfere with UK politics and democracy have not been successful.” reads the press release. ” The group has also selectively leaked and amplified the release of information in line with Russian confrontation goals, including to undermine trust in politics in the UK and likeminded states.”
The UK believes that the FSB coordinated at least the following activities:
The National Crime Agency investigation identifies two members of Star Blizzard and the UK and US governments sanctioned them. The two individuals are:
“The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has also summoned the Russian Ambassador to express the UK’s deep concern about Russia’s sustained attempts to use cyber to interfere in political and democratic processes in the UK and beyond.” concludes the press release.
The Microsoft Threat Intelligence team also provided technical details about Star Blizzard tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs).
The operations of Star Blizzard continue to concentrate on the theft of email credentials, with a primary emphasis on targeting cloud-based email providers hosting both organizational and personal email accounts.
Microsoft has identified five new Callisto Group (Star Blizzard) evasive techniques:
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