Russia's Midnight Blizzard Seeks to Snow French Diplomats
Summary:
French diplomatic entities have been targeted by Midnight Blizzard, a Russia-backed advanced persistent threat, since at least 2021, according to CERT-FR. This group, infamous for its involvement in the 2016 US elections interference and the 2020 SolarWinds attacks, remains a significant cyber threat. With Russia banned from the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris, its cyberattacks show no signs of abating. These attacks focus particularly on Ukraine, European allies of Ukraine, IT companies, and US critical infrastructure.
CERT-FR's recent alert identifies Midnight Blizzard (also known as Nobelium, APT29, Cozy Bear, and The Dukes) as persistently attempting to steal strategic intelligence from French diplomatic institutions in a campaign referred to as "Diplomatic Orbiter." Targets have included the French Ministry of Culture, the National Agency for Territorial Cohesion, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the French embassy in Ukraine.
Security Officer Comments:
The group's modus operandi involves using compromised legitimate email accounts belonging to diplomatic staff to conduct phishing campaigns against diplomatic institutions, embassies, and consulates. These activities are part of the broader "Diplomatic Orbiter" campaign. The lure documents used in these attacks are typically forged and tailored to target diplomatic staff.
Once the attackers gain initial access, they attempt to deliver custom, first-stage loaders designed to execute public tools such as Cobalt Strike or Brute Ratel C4. Their ultimate goal is to infiltrate the victim's network, ensure persistence, and exfiltrate valuable data. Despite their sophisticated efforts, many of these attacks have been unsuccessful, as highlighted by CERT-FR.
Suggested Corrections:
Organizations can make APT groups’ lives more difficult. Here’s how:
https://www.darkreading.com/remote-workforce/russia-midnight-blizzard-french-diplomats
French diplomatic entities have been targeted by Midnight Blizzard, a Russia-backed advanced persistent threat, since at least 2021, according to CERT-FR. This group, infamous for its involvement in the 2016 US elections interference and the 2020 SolarWinds attacks, remains a significant cyber threat. With Russia banned from the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris, its cyberattacks show no signs of abating. These attacks focus particularly on Ukraine, European allies of Ukraine, IT companies, and US critical infrastructure.
CERT-FR's recent alert identifies Midnight Blizzard (also known as Nobelium, APT29, Cozy Bear, and The Dukes) as persistently attempting to steal strategic intelligence from French diplomatic institutions in a campaign referred to as "Diplomatic Orbiter." Targets have included the French Ministry of Culture, the National Agency for Territorial Cohesion, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the French embassy in Ukraine.
Security Officer Comments:
The group's modus operandi involves using compromised legitimate email accounts belonging to diplomatic staff to conduct phishing campaigns against diplomatic institutions, embassies, and consulates. These activities are part of the broader "Diplomatic Orbiter" campaign. The lure documents used in these attacks are typically forged and tailored to target diplomatic staff.
Once the attackers gain initial access, they attempt to deliver custom, first-stage loaders designed to execute public tools such as Cobalt Strike or Brute Ratel C4. Their ultimate goal is to infiltrate the victim's network, ensure persistence, and exfiltrate valuable data. Despite their sophisticated efforts, many of these attacks have been unsuccessful, as highlighted by CERT-FR.
Suggested Corrections:
Organizations can make APT groups’ lives more difficult. Here’s how:
- Defense-in-depth strategy: A comprehensive defense-in-depth strategy is crucial to combat APTs. This includes implementing multiple layers of security controls, such as strong perimeter defenses, network segmentation, endpoint protection, intrusion detection systems, data encryption, access controls, and continuous monitoring for anomalies.
- Threat intelligence and sharing: Ideally, organizations should actively participate in threat intelligence sharing communities and collaborate with industry peers, government agencies, and security vendors. Sharing information about APTs and their techniques can help detect and mitigate attacks more effectively.
- Employee education and awareness: Regular security awareness programs, phishing simulations, and training sessions can educate employees about the latest threats, social engineering techniques, and safe computing practices.
- Incident response and recovery: Despite preventive measures, organizations should have a well-defined incident response plan. This includes incident detection, containment, eradication, and recovery procedures to minimize the impact of APT attacks and restore normal operations.
https://www.darkreading.com/remote-workforce/russia-midnight-blizzard-french-diplomats