Microsoft unveiled cyber-attacks targeted at European research institutes by computer hackers linked to the Russian government, highlighting concerns about possible interference in European Union elections to be held in May.
The US company said it was "confident" that attacks aimed at employees of organizations such as the German Council on Foreign Relations, The Aspen Institute and The German Marshall Fund, originated from a group called Strontium, which is also known as Fancy. Bear or APT 28. Microsoft, which continues to investigate the source of the attacks, had already pointed out on another occasion that the group is extensively linked to the Russian government.
The German Council on Foreign Relations was hacked "for a limited time" last year and has since strengthened its digital defenses, said Eva-Maria McCormack, spokeswoman for the Berlin think tank.
Microsoft's announcement comes at a time when EU officials are preparing for an online meddling attempt by Russian-backed agents ahead of the bloc's elections, where far-right parties are ready to embrace victory. Officials are concerned about possible attacks targeting voting technology and those designed to try to manipulate voting behavior.
The attacks "validate European leaders' warnings about the level of threat we should expect to see in Europe this year," Tom Burt, Microsoft's corporate vice president, said in a blog post Wednesday.
False mails
In an attempt to gain access to employee credentials and send malware, the attackers created malicious links and forged email addresses that looked legitimate and targeted 104 accounts of think tank employees located in Belgium, France, Germany, Poland, Romania and Serbia. The attacks took place between September and December of last year, Microsoft said.
"These attacks were not a surprise," German Marshall Fund president Karen Donfried said in a statement. He said the organization is constantly reviewing and updating its protocols in light of cybersecurity events.
Social networks and technology platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, say they are increasing their efforts to identify potential threats and provide more transparency about who pays for political ads.
Germany has had a good amount of cyber attacks. The hackers published private data linked to the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and hundreds of other German politicians in January, which represented the largest leak of data of this type in the country.
The hackers also tried to infiltrate the computers of the think tanks associated with the parties of the CDU and the SPD that they govern in 2017. A year before, the scammers created a fake server in Latvia to flood the German legislators with phishing emails .
In 2015, the attackers broke the Bundestag's parliament network and stole 16 gigabytes of data. The security firm Trend Micro has linked the attack of the Bundestag and others to Pawn Storm, another alias for Strontium. The Russian government has repeatedly denied that it is hacking foreign powers.
Since 2007, Strontium has targeted attacks on government agencies, diplomatic institutions, military forces and facilities, journalists and political advisors and organizations, according to Microsoft.
Date update on 2019-02-20. Date published on 2019-02-20. Category: hackers Author: Oscar olg Fuente: laterceraNot everything in life is technology
