Critical Infrastructure Security, Threat Management

Eastern Europe’s energy industry targeted by Russian hackers

Several cyberattacks have been launched by Russian state-sponsored threat groups against the East European energy industry during the first quarter of 2023, reports The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. Most of the Russian phishing campaigns against the sector have been targeted at Ukraine, according to a report from Google's Threat Analysis Group. Meanwhile, the FROZENBARENTS operation believed to be run by Russia's General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate, which has been leveraging email servers to compromise networks and conduct information operations has been cited as one of the most notable threat groups engaging in such attacks. "FROZENBARENTS remains the most versatile GRU cyber actor with offensive capabilities including credential phishing, mobile activity, malware, external exploitation of services, and beyond. They target sectors of interest for Russian intelligence collection including government, defense, energy, transportation/logistics, education, and humanitarian organizations," said Google TAG researcher Billy Leonard. Aside from FROZENBARENTS, Ukraine has also been targeted by phishing attacks by APT28 threat group, also known as Fancy Bear and Frozen Lake.

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