Security News > 2023 > June > Microsoft Warns of New Russian State-Sponsored Hacker Group with Destructive Intent

Microsoft on Wednesday took the lid off a "Novel and distinct Russian threat actor," which it said is linked to the General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate and has a "Relatively low success rate."

The tech giant's Threat Intelligence team, which was previously tracking the group under its emerging moniker DEV-0586, has graduated it to a named actor dubbed Cadet Blizzard.

"While the group carries high risk due to their destructive activity, they appear to operate with a lower degree of operational security than that of longstanding and advanced Russian groups such as Seashell Blizzard and Forest Blizzard."

Cadet Blizzard first came to light in January 2022 in connection with destructive cyber activity targeting Ukraine using a novel wiper malware called WhisperGate in the weeks leading to Russia's military invasion of the country.

"Cadet Blizzard is also linked to the defacements of several Ukrainian organization websites, as well as multiple operations, including the hack-and-leak forum known as 'Free Civilian,'" Microsoft added.

"As the war continues, Cadet Blizzard activity poses an increasing risk to the broader European community, specifically any successful attacks against governments and IT service providers, which may give the actor both tactical and strategic-level insight into Western operations and policy surrounding the conflict," Microsoft noted.

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https://thehackernews.com/2023/06/microsoft-warns-of-new-russian-state.html