Cybersecurity threats have become increasingly sophisticated, and state-sponsored actors continue to target government institutions and diplomatic entities. One such incident involves a Russian threat actor known as “Nobelium,” which has been launching spear phishing attacks against French diplomats.
ANSSI Issued an Alert
France's cybersecurity agency, ANSSI, has issued a notice outlining a Russian spear phishing attempt aimed at French diplomats, the Record writes. The CIA connects the campaign to "Nobelium," a threat actor linked to Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).
The Campaign
Nobelium, believed to have ties to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (the SVR), primarily uses compromised legitimate email accounts belonging to diplomatic staff to conduct these attacks. The goal is to exfiltrate valuable intelligence and gain insights into French diplomatic activities.
Compromising Email Accounts of French Ministers
These events included the penetration of email accounts at the French Ministry of Culture and the National Agency for Territorial Cohesion, but according to ANSSI, the hackers were unable to access any elements of those networks other than the compromised inboxes.
However, the hackers subsequently used those email addresses to target other organizations, including France's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ANSSI stated that Nobelium attempted to acquire remote access to the network by installing Cobalt Strike, a penetration testing system infamous for being abused by bad actors, but was unsuccessful.
Other occurrences reported by ANSSI included the use of a French diplomat's stolen email account to send a malicious message falsely proclaiming the closure of the French Embassy in South Africa due to an alleged terror assault.
Tactics and Techniques
Nobelium’s spear phishing campaigns are highly targeted. They craft convincing lure documents tailored to specific individuals within diplomatic institutions, embassies, and consulates. Here are some tactics and techniques they employ:
Email Spoofing: Nobelium impersonates trusted senders, often using official-looking email addresses. This makes it challenging for recipients to discern the malicious intent.
Lure Documents: The threat actor attaches seemingly innocuous files (such as PDFs or Word documents) to their emails. These files contain hidden malware or exploit vulnerabilities in software applications.
Social Engineering: Nobelium leverages social engineering techniques to manipulate recipients into opening the attachments. They might use urgent language, reference official matters, or create a sense of curiosity.
Credential Harvesting: Once the recipient opens the attachment, the malware may attempt to steal login credentials or gain unauthorized access to sensitive systems.
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