New Star Blizzard spear-phishing campaign targets WhatsApp accounts


Star Blizzard’s new spear-phishing campaign, while novel in that it uses and targets WhatsApp for the first time, exhibits familiar spear-phishing TTPs for Star Blizzard, with the threat actor initiating email contact with their targets, to engage them, before sending them a second message containing a malicious link.

The sender address used by the threat actor in this campaign impersonates a US government official, continuing Star Blizzard’s practice of impersonating known political/diplomatic figures, to further ensure target engagement. The initial email sent to targets contains a quick response (QR) code purporting to direct users to join a WhatsApp group on “the latest non-governmental initiatives aimed at supporting Ukraine NGOs.”

Read more…
Source: Microsoft


Sign up for our Newsletter


Related:

  • Exotic Lily: Exposing initial access broker with ties to Conti

    March 18, 2022

    In early September 2021, Threat Analysis Group (TAG) observed a financially motivated threat actor we refer to as EXOTIC LILY, exploiting a 0day in Microsoft MSHTML (CVE-2021-40444). Investigating this group’s activity, we determined they are an Initial Access Broker (IAB) who appear to be working with the Russian cyber crime gang known as FIN12 (Mandiant, ...

  • Britain, U.S. warn of satellite communications risks after Ukraine hack

    March 18, 2022

    Britain and the United States have warned organisations of the risks associated with using satellite communications following a cyberattack on satellite internet modems as Russia invaded Ukraine. Western intelligence agencies have been investigating the attack which disrupted broadband satellite internet access provided by U.S. telecommunications firm Viasat, Reuters reported last week. “It’s certainly something we’re investigating quite ...

  • ISC Releases Security Advisories for BIND

    March 17, 2022

    The Internet Systems Consortium (ISC) has released security advisories that address vulnerabilities affecting multiple versions of ISC Berkeley Internet Name Domain (BIND). A remote attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities to cause a denial-of-service condition. CISA encourages users and administrators to review the following ISC advisories and apply the necessary updates or workarounds. CVE-2021-25220 CVE-2022-0396 CVE-2022-0635 CVE-2022-0667 Read more… Source: U.S. Cybersecurity and ...

  • CISA: Strengthening Cybersecurity of SATCOM Network Providers and Customers

    March 17, 2022

    CISA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are aware of possible threats to U.S. and international satellite communications (SATCOM) networks. Successful intrusions into SATCOM networks could create additional risk for SATCOM network customer environments. In response, CISA and FBI have published joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) Strengthening Cybersecurity of SATCOM Network Providers and Customers, which provides ...

  • From BlackMatter to BlackCat: Analyzing two attacks from one affiliate

    March 17, 2022

    BlackCat is a recent and growing ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) group that targeted several organizations worldwide over the past few months. There are rumors of a relationship between BlackCat and the BlackMatter/DarkSide ransomware groups, infamous for attacking the Colonial Pipeline last year. According to a BlackCat representative, BlackCat is not a rebranding of BlackMatter, but its team is made ...

  • FBI: Indicators of Compromise Associated with AvosLocker Ransomware

    March 17, 2022

    AvosLocker is a Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) affiliate-based group that has targeted victims across multiple critical infrastructure sectors in the United States including, but not limited to, the Financial Services, Critical Manufacturing, and Government Facilities sectors. AvosLocker claims to directly handle ransom negotiations, as well as the publishing and hosting of exfiltrated victim data ...