Security

Microsoft seizes domains used by Russian spies to target Ukraine

Comment

The Microsoft logo is illuminated on a wall during a Microsoft launch event
Image Credits: Drew Angerer / Getty Images

Microsoft has successfully seized domains used by APT28, a state-sponsored group operated by Russian military intelligence, to target institutions in Ukraine.

The tech giant said in a blog post on Thursday that Strontium — Microsoft’s moniker for APT28 or “Fancy Bear,” a hacking group linked to Russia’s GRU — used the domains to target multiple Ukrainian institutions, including media organizations, as well as government institutions and think tanks involved in foreign policy in the U.S. and Europe.

“We believe Strontium was attempting to establish long-term access to the systems of its targets, provide tactical support for the physical invasion and exfiltrate sensitive information,” said Tom Burt, Microsoft’s vice president for customer security.

Microsoft said it obtained a court order on April 6 that authorized the company to take control of seven domains APT28 was using to carry out its cyberattacks. “We have since re-directed these domains to a sinkhole controlled by Microsoft, enabling us to mitigate Strontium’s current use of these domains and enable victim notifications,” Burt added. “We have notified Ukraine’s government about the activity we detected and the action we’ve taken.”

This action is part of a wider Microsoft investigation into the Russian state-sponsored hacking group that started back in 2016. Microsoft has obtained several court decisions in recent years to seize infrastructure being used by APT28. To date, Microsoft has filed 15 other cases against the Russian-backed threat group, leading to the seizure of more than 100 malicious domains controlled by the Russian spies.

The Russia-backed hacker group has been active since at least 2009, targeting predominantly media, military, security organizations and governments worldwide, including a 2015 hack of the German federal parliament and an attack against the Democratic National Committee in 2016.

APT28 has also been linked to the recent cyberattack on U.S. satellite communications provider Viasat, an incident that triggered satellite service outages across Central and Eastern Europe. A recent SentinelOne report said the attack was likely the result of destructive wiper malware that shares similarities with the VPNFilter malware, which infected thousands of home and small business routers and network devices worldwide. In 2018, the FBI attributed the VPNFilter operation to APT28.

Microsoft’s Burt said that APT28’s attacks “are just a small part of the activity we have seen in Ukraine,” adding that the company has “observed nearly all of Russia’s nation-state actors engaged in the ongoing full-scale offensive against Ukraine’s government and critical infrastructure.”

Microsoft’s domain seizures landed just days after the FBI said it has taken down a massive botnet also run by the GRU.

Read more:

More TechCrunch

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft has successfully delivered two astronauts to the International Space Station, a key milestone in the aerospace giant’s quest to certify the capsule for regular crewed missions.  Starliner…

Boeing’s Starliner overcomes leaks and engine trouble to dock with ‘the big city in the sky’

Rivian needs to sell its new revamped vehicles at a profit in order to sustain itself long enough to get to the cheaper mass market R2 SUV on the road.

Rivian’s path to survival is now remarkably clear

Featured Article

What to expect from WWDC 2024: iOS 18, macOS 15 and so much AI

Apple is hoping to make WWDC 2024 memorable as it finally spells out its generative AI plans.

2 hours ago
What to expect from WWDC 2024: iOS 18, macOS 15 and so much AI

In a research note, HSBC estimates that the Indian edtech giant Byju’s, once valued at $22 billion, is now worth nothing.

HSBC believes that $22 billion Byju’s is now worth zero

As WWDC 2024 nears, all sorts of rumors and leaks have emerged about what iOS 18 and its AI-powered apps and features have in store.

What to expect from Apple’s AI-powered iOS 18 at WWDC 2024

Apple’s annual list of what it considers the best and most innovative software available on its platform is turning its attention to the little guy.

Apple’s Design Awards highlight indies and startups

Meta launched its Meta Verified program today along with other features, such as the ability to call large businesses and custom messages.

Meta rolls out Meta Verified for WhatsApp Business users in Brazil, India, Indonesia and Colombia

Last year, during the Q3 2023 earnings call, Mark Zuckerberg talked about leveraging AI to have business accounts respond to customers for purchase and support queries. Today, Meta announced AI-powered…

Meta adds AI-powered features to WhatsApp Business app

TikTok is testing streaks that are similar to Snapchat’s in order to boost engagement, including how long people stay on the app.

TikTok is testing Snapchat-like streaks

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! Your usual…

Inside Fisker’s collapse and robotaxis come to more US cities

New York-based Revel has made a lot of pivots since initially launching in 2018 as a dockless e-moped sharing service. The BlackRock-backed startup briefly stepped into the e-bike subscription business.…

Revel to lay off 1,000 staff ride-hail drivers, saying they’d rather be contractors anyway

Google says apps offering AI features will have to prevent the generation of restricted content.

Google Play cracks down on AI apps after circulation of apps for making deepfake nudes

The British retailers association also takes aim at Amazon’s “Buy Box,” claiming that Amazon manipulated which retailers were selected for the coveted placement.

UK retailers file a £1.1B collective action against Amazon over claims of data misuse

Featured Article

Rivian overhauled the R1S and R1T to entice new buyers ahead of cheaper R2 launch

Rivian has changed 600 parts on its R1S SUV and R1T pickup truck in a bid to drive down manufacturing costs, while improving performance of its flagship vehicles.  The end goal, which will play out over the coming year, is an existential one. Rivian lost about $38,784 on every vehicle…

6 hours ago
Rivian overhauled the R1S and R1T to entice new buyers ahead of cheaper R2 launch

Twitch has come up with a solution for the ongoing copyright issues that DJs encounter on the platform. The company announced Thursday a new program that enables DJs to stream…

Twitch DJs will now have to pay music labels to play songs in livestreams

Google said today it is partnering with RapidSOS, a platform for emergency first responders, to enable users to contact 911 through RCS (Rich Messaging Service).

Google partners with RapidSOS to enable 911 contact through RCS

Long before product-led growth became a buzzword, Atlassian offered free tiers for virtually all of its productivity and developer tools. Today, that mostly means free access for up to 10…

Atlassian now gives startups a year of free access

Featured Article

A social app for creatives, Cara grew from 40k to 650k users in a week because artists are fed up with Meta’s AI policies

Artists have finally had enough with Meta’s predatory AI policies, but Meta’s loss is Cara’s gain. An artist-run, anti-AI social platform, Cara has grown from 40,000 to 650,000 users within the last week, catapulting it to the top of the App Store charts. Instagram is a necessity for many artists,…

6 hours ago
A social app for creatives, Cara grew from 40k to 650k users in a week because artists are fed up with Meta’s AI policies

Google has developed a new AI tool to help marine biologists better understand coral reef ecosystems and their health, which can aid in conversation efforts. The tool, SurfPerch, created with…

Google looks to AI to help save the coral reefs

Only a few years ago, one of the hottest topics in enterprise software was ‘robotic process automation’ (RPA). It doesn’t feel like those services, which tried to automate a lot…

Tektonic AI raises $10M to build GenAI agents for automating business operations

SpaceX achieved a key milestone in its Starship flight test campaign: returning the booster and the upper stage back to Earth.

SpaceX launches mammoth Starship rocket and brings it back for the first time

There’s a lot of buzz about generative AI and what impact it might have on businesses. But look beyond the hype and high-profile deals like the one between OpenAI and…

Sirion, now valued around $1B, acquires Eigen as consolidation comes to enterprise AI tooling

Carlo Kobe and Scott Smith believed so strongly in the need for a debit card product designed specifically for Gen Zers that they dropped out of Harvard and Cornell at…

Kleiner Perkins leads $14.4M seed round into Fizz, a credit-building debit card aimed at Gen Z college students

A new app called MyGlimpact is intended not only to help people understand their environmental footprint, but why they shouldn’t feel guilty about it.

How many Earths does your lifestyle require?

Prolific Machines believes it has a way of transitioning away from molecules to something better: light.

Prolific Machines, with a $55M Series B, shines ‘light’ on a better way to grow lab proteins for food and medicine

It’s been 20 years since Shira Yevin, the lead singer of punk band Shiragirl drove a pink RV into the Vans Warped Tour grounds, the now-defunct punk rock festival notorious…

Punk singer Shira Yevin pushes for fair pay with InPink, a women-focused job marketplace

While the transport industry does use legacy software, many of these platforms are from an earlier era. Qargo hopes its newer technologies can help it leapfrog the competition.

Qargo raises $14M to digitize and decarbonize the trucking industry

When you look at how generative AI is being implemented across developer tools, the focus for the most part has been on generating code, as with Github Copilot. Greptile, an…

Greptile raises $4M to build an AI-fueled code base expert

The models tended to answer questions inconsistently, which reflects biases embedded in the data used to train the models.

Study finds that AI models hold opposing views on controversial topics

A growing number of businesses are embracing data models — abstract models that organize elements of data and standardize how they relate to one another. But as the data analytics…

Cube is building a ‘semantic layer’ for company data