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
Related:
- Domain Parking: A Gateway to Attackers Spreading Emotet and Impersonating McAfee
October 29, 2020
Domain parking services offer a simple solution for domain owners to monetize their sites’ traffic through third-party advertisements. While domain parking might appear harmless at first glance, parked domains pose significant threats, as they can redirect visitors to malicious or unwanted landing pages or turn entirely malicious at any point in time. We have been detecting ...
- FBI warning: Trickbot and ransomware attackers plan big hit on US hospitals
October 29, 2020
US healthcare providers, already under pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic, have been put on high alert over Trickbot malware and ransomware targeting the sector. The warning over an “imminent cybercrime threat to US hospitals and healthcare providers” comes from the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), ...
- Maze ransomware is shutting down its cybercrime operation
October 29, 2020
The Maze cybercrime gang is shutting down its operations after rising to become one of the most prominent players performing ransomware attacks. The Maze ransomware began operating in May 2019 but became more active in November. That’s when the media-savvy operation revolutionized ransomware attacks by introducing a double-extortion tactic. Read more… Source: Bleeping Computer
- North Korea-Backed Spy Group Poses as Reporters in Spearphishing Attacks, Feds Warn
October 28, 2020
The North Korean advanced persistent threat (APT) group known as Kimsuky is actively attacking commercial-sector businesses, often by posing as South Korean reporters, according to an alert from the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Kimsuky (a.k.a. Hidden Cobra) has been operating as a cyberespionage group since 2012 under the auspices of the regime in ...
- Trump Campaign Website Defaced by Cryptocurrency Scam
October 28, 2020
Hackers took over President Trump’s 2020 election campaign website late Tuesday, replacing parts of the site with a cryptocurrency scam before returning it to its original content several minutes later. Journalist Gabriel Lorenzo Greschler was the first to notice the attack while he was doing research for a climate-change article, he wrote in a tweet. The ...
- DDoS attacks in Q3 2020
October 28, 2020
Q3 was relatively calm from a DDoS perspective. There were no headline innovations, although cybercriminals did continue to master techniques and develop malware already familiar to us from the last reporting period. For example, another DDoS botnet joined in the assault on Docker environments. The perpetrators infiltrated the target server, created an infected container, and ...

