Security News

Kremlin's Sandworm blamed for cyberattacks on US, European water utilities
2024-04-17 19:56

Your profile can be used to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests. Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services, possible interests and personal aspects.

Kremlin accuses America of plotting cyberattack on Russian voting systems
2024-03-11 21:58

The Kremlin has accused the United States of meddling in Russia's upcoming presidential election, and even accused Uncle Sam of planning a cyberattack on the country's online voting system. Putin, who controls the SVR and the election process, will undoubtedly win the vote.

Google TAG: Kremlin cyber spies move into malware with a custom backdoor
2024-01-18 14:00

Russian cyberspies linked to the Kremlin's Federal Security Service are moving beyond their usual credential phishing antics and have developed a custom backdoor that they started delivering via email as far back as November 2022, according to Google's Threat Analysis Group. "TAG has observed SPICA being used as early as September 2023, but believe that COLDRIVER's use of the backdoor goes back to at least November 2022," the Chocolate Factory's threat hunting team said in an analysis published today.

Sandworm's Kyivstar attack should serve as a reminder of the Kremlin crew's 'global reach'
2024-01-05 07:30

Russia's Sandworm crew appear to have been responsible for knocking out mobile and internet services to about 24 million users in Ukraine last month with an attack on telco giant Kyivstar. The telco did not immediately respond to The Register's inquiries, but a Kyivstar spokesperson said it was working with the SBU to investigate the attack, and added that "No facts of leakage of personal and subscriber data have been revealed."

Hollywood plays unwitting Cameo in Kremlin plot to discredit Zelensky
2023-12-09 11:28

An unknown pro-Russia influence group spent time recruiting unwitting Hollywood actors to assist in smear campaigns against Ukraine and its president Volodymyr Zelensky. Exploiting platforms like Cameo, which allows people to pay public figures for personalized videos, usually for events like birthdays, this influence operation compensated US celebrities to record videos for a "Vladimir," supporting his fight against substance addiction.

Microsoft Warns of Kremlin-Backed APT28 Exploiting Critical Outlook Vulnerability
2023-12-05 06:59

Microsoft on Monday said it detected Kremlin-backed nation-state activity exploiting a critical security flaw in its Outlook email service to gain unauthorized access to victims' accounts within...

Kremlin-backed Sandworm strikes Android devices with data-stealing Infamous Chisel
2023-08-31 19:13

Russia's Sandworm crew is using an Android malware strain dubbed Infamous Chisel to remotely access Ukrainian soldiers' devices, monitor network traffic, access files, and steal sensitive information, according to a Five Eyes report published Thursday. Ukraine's security agency spotted and blocked Sandworm's latest campaign earlier this month when the Kremlin-backed cyber goons were attempting to use Infamous Chisel to break into the army's combat data exchange system.

Kremlin claims Apple helped NSA spy on diplomats via iPhone backdoor
2023-06-01 21:49

Russian intelligence has accused American snoops and Apple of working together to backdoor iPhones to spy on "Thousands" of diplomats worldwide. A Kaspersky spokesperson told The Register it's aware of the FSB claims, but can't say if the two things - Uncle Sam backdooring iPhones, and the spyware found on several Kaspersky devices - are linked.

Russian IT guy sent to labor camp for DDoSing Kremlin websites
2023-05-19 20:14

A Russian IT worker accused of participating in pro-Ukraine denial of service attacks against Russian government websites has been sentenced to three years in a penal colony and ordered to pay 800,000 rubles. According to the state-owned TASS news agency, a Russian regional court handed down the sentence against Yevgeny Kotikov, who is said to have supported Kyiv during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

US citizens charged with pushing pro-Kremlin disinfo, election interference
2023-04-18 23:35

Four US citizens have been accused of working on behalf of the Russian government to push pro-Kremlin propaganda and unduly influence elections in Florida. The indictment follows earlier charges last year [PDF] against Moscow resident Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov, two unnamed Russian Federal Security Service agents, and four unnamed Americans for their roles in recruiting US political groups to sow discord and division among voters, and push, among other fringe ideologies, California's secession from the US. It's claimed this same group of FSB agents also funded and directed the political campaign of a particular candidate for office in St Petersburg, Florida, in 2019, we're told.