A single opened email was enough. That is how Russian state-linked hackers got into accounts at US nuclear research bodies, defense contractors and government offices across NATO countries, according to a joint cybersecurity advisory from American authorities and more than a dozen allied governments.
The espionage campaign ran for a year. The security firm Proofpoint detailed it in a report, and CNN was first to publish the story.
How the break-ins worked
The attackers used a rare flaw in email software. CNN reported that victims did not have to click a link or download an attachment: opening the malicious message compromised the account. From there the hackers could read up to three months of correspondence and copy the organization’s full contact directory.
Investigators told CNN the aim was sensitive intelligence on advanced nuclear research and defense technology, material that could help Moscow’s war effort against Ukraine. The advisory ties the activity to a Russian espionage group that has gone after Western government and defense institutions before.
Ukraine as a testing ground
British Security Minister Dan Jarvis said Russia often tries new cyber techniques on Ukrainian targets first. “Ukraine is often the testing ground for new methods before they are used against our NATO allies,” he said.
FBI Cyber Division official Brett Leatherman said Russian cyber activity against the United States has picked up again. It had eased for a time after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. US officials, per CNN, see the latest campaign as one piece of a wider effort to collect intelligence from scientific, defense and government sectors.
There has been one arrest. Thai authorities detained a suspected member of the operation last year, a 30-year-old Russian national, who was later extradited to the United States and faces trial in Boston.
The campaign came weeks after another disclosure. Earlier in July, Dutch intelligence said Russian state-backed hackers had broken into internet-connected security cameras in several NATO countries to watch military shipments bound for Ukraine.
Sources
- Russian Hackers Tried to Steal US and NATO Nuclear Fusion Research
- Russian hackers target US and NATO defence and nuclear research – TechCentral.ie
