Related Research Articles
A supply chain attack is a cyber-attack that seeks to damage an organization by targeting less secure elements in the supply chain. A supply chain attack can occur in any industry, from the financial sector, oil industry, to a government sector. A supply chain attack can happen in software or hardware. Cybercriminals typically tamper with the manufacturing or distribution of a product by installing malware or hardware-based spying components. Symantec's 2019 Internet Security Threat Report states that supply chain attacks increased by 78 percent in 2018.
Trellix is a privately held cybersecurity company that was founded in 2022. It has been involved in the detection and prevention of major cybersecurity attacks. It provides hardware, software, and services to investigate cybersecurity attacks, protect against malicious software, and analyze IT security risks.
Kaspersky Lab is a Russian multinational cybersecurity and anti-virus provider headquartered in Moscow, Russia, and operated by a holding company in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1997 by Eugene Kaspersky, Natalya Kaspersky and Alexey De-Monderik. Kaspersky Lab develops and sells antivirus, internet security, password management, endpoint security, and other cybersecurity products and services.
Cyber spying, cyber espionage, or cyber-collection is the act or practice of obtaining secrets and information without the permission and knowledge of the holder of the information using methods on the Internet, networks or individual computers through the use of proxy servers, cracking techniques and malicious software including Trojan horses and spyware. Cyber espionage can be used to target various actors- individuals, competitors, rivals, groups, governments, and others- in order to obtain personal, economic, political or military advantages. It may wholly be perpetrated online from computer desks of professionals on bases in far away countries or may involve infiltration at home by computer trained conventional spies and moles or in other cases may be the criminal handiwork of amateur malicious hackers and software programmers.
An advanced persistent threat (APT) is a stealthy threat actor, typically a state or state-sponsored group, which gains unauthorized access to a computer network and remains undetected for an extended period. In recent times, the term may also refer to non-state-sponsored groups conducting large-scale targeted intrusions for specific goals.
Cyberwarfare by China is the aggregate of all combative activities in the cyberspace which are taken by organs of the People's Republic of China, including affiliated advanced persistent threat (APT) groups, against other countries.
Shamoon, also known as W32.DistTrack, is a modular computer virus that was discovered in 2012, targeting then-recent 32-bit NT kernel versions of Microsoft Windows. The virus was notable due to the destructive nature of the attack and the cost of recovery. Shamoon can spread from an infected machine to other computers on the network. Once a system is infected, the virus continues to compile a list of files from specific locations on the system, upload them to the attacker, and erase them. Finally the virus overwrites the master boot record of the infected computer, making it unusable.
Cyberweapons are commonly defined as malware agents employed for military, paramilitary, or intelligence objectives as part of a cyberattack. This includes computer viruses, trojans, spyware, and worms that can introduce malicious code into existing software, causing a computer to perform actions or processes unintended by its operator.
Cyberwarfare is a part of Iran's "soft war" military strategy. Being both a victim and wager of cyberwarfare, Iran is considered an emerging military power in the field.
"Operation Newscaster", as labelled by American firm iSIGHT Partners in 2014, is a cyber espionage covert operation directed at military and political figures using social networking, allegedly done by Iran. The operation has been described as "creative", "long-term" and "unprecedented". According to iSIGHT Partners, it is "the most elaborate cyber espionage campaign using social engineering that has been uncovered to date from any nation".
Cozy Bear, classified by the United States federal government as advanced persistent threat APT29, is a Russian hacker group believed to be associated with one or more intelligence agencies of Russia. The Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) deduced from security camera footage that it is led by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), a view shared by the United States. Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike also previously suggested that it may be associated with either the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) or SVR. The group has been given various nicknames by other cybersecurity firms, including CozyCar, CozyDuke, Dark Halo, The Dukes, Midnight Blizzard, NOBELIUM, Office Monkeys, StellarParticle, UNC2452, and YTTRIUM.
Fancy Bear, also known as APT28, Pawn Storm, Sofacy Group, Sednit, Tsar Team and STRONTIUM or Forest Blizzard, is a Russian cyber espionage group. Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike has said with a medium level of confidence that it is associated with the Russian military intelligence agency GRU. The UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office as well as security firms SecureWorks, ThreatConnect, and Mandiant, have also said the group is sponsored by the Russian government. In 2018, an indictment by the United States Special Counsel identified Fancy Bear as GRU Unit 26165. This refers to its unified Military Unit Number of the Russian army regiments. The headquarters of Fancy Bear and the entire military unit, which reportedly specializes in state-sponsored cyberattacks and decryption of hacked data, were targeted by Ukrainian drones on July 24, 2023, the rooftop on one of the buildings collapsed as a result of the explosion.
Rocket Kitten or the Rocket Kitten Group is a hacker group thought to be linked to the Iranian government. The threat actor group has targeted organizations and individuals in the Middle East, particularly Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iran as well as the United States and Europe.
Helix Kitten is a hacker group identified by CrowdStrike as Iranian.
Red Apollo is a Chinese state-sponsored cyberespionage group which has operated since 2006. In a 2018 indictment, the United States Department of Justice attributed the group to the Tianjin State Security Bureau of the Ministry of State Security.
Charming Kitten, also called APT35, Phosphorus or Mint Sandstorm, Ajax Security, and NewsBeef, is an Iranian government cyberwarfare group, described by several companies and government officials as an advanced persistent threat.
Cyberwarfare is a component of the confrontation between Russia and Ukraine since the Revolution of Dignity in 2013-2014. While the first attacks on information systems of private enterprises and state institutions of Ukraine were recorded during mass protests in 2013, Russian cyberweapon Uroburos had been around since 2005. Russian cyberwarfare continued with the 2015 Ukraine power grid hack at Christmas 2015 and again in 2016, paralysis of the State Treasury of Ukraine in December 2016, a Mass hacker supply-chain attack in June 2017 and attacks on Ukrainian government websites in January 2022.
Double Dragon is a hacking organization with alleged ties to the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS). Classified as an advanced persistent threat, the organization was named by the United States Department of Justice in September 2020 in relation to charges brought against five Chinese and two Malaysian nationals for allegedly compromising more than 100 companies around the world.
Sandworm is an advanced persistent threat operated by Military Unit 74455, a cyberwarfare unit of the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service. Other names for the group, given by cybersecurity researchers, include Telebots, Voodoo Bear, IRIDIUM, Seashell Blizzard, and Iron Viking.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Greenberg, Andy (September 20, 2017). "New Group of Iranian Hackers Linked to Destructive Malware". Wired .
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 O'Leary, Jacqueline; Kimble, Josiah; Vanderlee, Kelli; Fraser, Nalani (September 20, 2017). "Insights into Iranian Cyber Espionage: APT33 Targets Aerospace and Energy Sectors and has Ties to Destructive Malware". FireEye.
- ↑ "Peach Sandstorm password spray campaigns enable intelligence collection at high-value targets". Microsoft . 14 September 2023.
- ↑ "Elfin: Relentless Espionage Group Targets Multiple Organizations in Saudi Arabia and U.S."
- ↑ "MAGNALLIUM | Dragos". 30 May 2020.
- ↑ "Microsoft says Iran-linked hackers targeted businesses". Associated Press . 6 March 2019.
- 1 2 Cox, Joseph (20 September 2017). "Suspected Iranian Hackers Targeted U.S. Aerospace Sector". The Daily Beast . Archived from the original on September 21, 2017.
Included in a piece of non-public malware APT33 uses called TURNEDUP is the username "xman_1365_x." xman has accounts on a selection of Iranian hacking forums, such as Shabgard and Ashiyane, although FireEye says it did not find any evidence to suggest xman was formally part of those site's hacktivist groups. In its report, FireEye links xman to the "Nasr Institute," a hacking group allegedly controlled by the Iranian government.
- ↑ Auchard, Eric; Wagstaff, Jeremy; Sharafedin, Bozorgmehr (September 20, 2017). Heinrich, Mark (ed.). "Once 'kittens' in cyber spy world, Iran gaining hacking prowess: security experts". Reuters .
FireEye found some ties between APT33 and the Nasr Institute - which other experts have connected to the Iranian Cyber Army, an offshoot of the Revolutionary Guards - but it has yet to find any links to a specific government agency, Hultquist said.