A new attack targeting Russian infrastructure from China has been recorded by Checkpoint experts. The latter took the form of a phishing campaign aimed at two military research institutes. Since the beginning of the year and particularly since the start of the war in Ukraine, Russia has been regularly attacked by its strategic partner.
Russia has never been so isolated from the rest of the world. If it was predictable that the West turned its back on it after the invasion of Ukraine, it is more surprising that its long-time strategic partners also attacked the Kremlin. However, this is what the recent cyberattacks from the Middle Kingdom, of which the Putin government has been the target, seem to show.
And China obviously does not intend to stop there, as evidenced by the new attack recorded by Checkpoint experts. This is particularly sensitive, since it targeted Rostec, the country’s largest military research company. Two of its institutes, as well as potentially a Belarusian player, were targeted by a phishing campaign playing on the unstable global geopolitical context.
Related: Ten Mobile Operators Hacked by Chinese Spies
Russia is the target of repeated cyberattacks from China
The email sent to the victims takes the form of an official letter from the Russian Ministry of Health. Some of them warn of a so-called biological weapon developed by the United States which would be a real threat to the population of the country. As often in phishing attacks, the email contains an attachment, this time a Word document, which contains malware which, once installed, allows you to control the PC remotely.
According to Checkpoint, the hackers behind this campaign are close to Stone Panda and Mustang Panda, two groups having already distinguished themselves during recent attacks targeting Russian infrastructure. If it has just been discovered, it has actually been taking place for about a year, according to similar procedures noted by the institute. As expected, the intensity has escalated since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Source : check point
