According to a National Cyber Security Centre report, several prominent figures in the UK are being targeted by Russian and Iranian cybercrime gangs. High-level campaigns are being launched against UK targets to make them click on malicious links and spread viruses. There is a chance that NGOs and think tanks need to be on high alert for spear-phishing attacks which attempt to steal information from their employees by using a spear-phishing email.
NCSC has identified two criminal groups, Seaborgium, and TA453, operating across the country. There is a similarity between their operations, but an advisory published today indicates that, despite their similarity, they are not believed to be collaborating. An attacker may target a specific individual with this type of attack, sometimes called ‘big game hunting,’ by using information known to be of interest to the target to dupe them into clicking on malicious links that lead to a malicious website.
“Threat actors based in Russia and Iran continue to wage ruthless attacks to steal online credentials from their targets, which they can then use to compromise potentially sensitive systems such as banking systems,” said Paul Chichester, the NCSC director of operations. Organizations and individuals are strongly encouraged to remain vigilant regarding potential online attacks and to follow the mitigation advice in the advisory to ensure their online safety.
Activists, politicians, and journalists remain the primary targets. Researchers, military personnel, NGOs, think tanks, government employees, and criminals now target other professionals. According to the advisory, Seaborgium is operating from Russia, while TA453 is from Iran. The first goal Seaborgium and TA453 set out to achieve was to identify hooks, allowing them to engage their targets using open-source resources, including social media and professional networking platforms.
They will also create fictitious social media profiles to impersonate respected experts in the field for which they are targeting or fabricating conferences and approaches from journalists to trick an individual of interest into surrendering their trust in them.
