Let’s break out the arrests and political moves here.
Russia arrested six people yesterday who were allegedly part of a hacking group focused on credit cards. Russian media reports that the arrests come at the request of investigators from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. BleepingComputer reported this, and while Russian law enforcement has not specified which groups, three carding forums related to credit card theft displayed seizure notices from the Russian government. And, discovered within the code for the seizure notices is a hidden message in Russian, which translates to “Which of you is next?”
It’s not all good news from Russian moves – research published last Thursday shows a series of Cyberattacks on Ukrainian institutions appear to be a hacking activity associated with the Russian government. The researchers clarify that it’s not a direct tie but a more broad analysis.
Microsoft, however, also released details of actors aligned with the Russian FSB targeting the Ukraine government. Since October, it says the hacking group, which it calls Actinium, has “targeted or compromised accounts” at Ukraine emergency response organizations. Actinium hackers also targeted organizations that would coordinate international and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
Proofpoint released research showing a Palestinian-aligned hacking group has targeted Middle Eastern governments, foreign policy think tanks, and a state-affiliated airline with a new malware implant as part of “highly targeted intelligence collection campaigns,”
In the last story, I talked about the changing calculus, and here it is again. A mixed story out of Russia, it seems – some crime won’t be permitted, while used as a political weapon most certainly will be. The two aren’t necessarily distinct either, as crime can be part of the political pressures.
It’s clear that cyber is a space of warfare… and should be described as such.