Global Intelligence Agencies Unite Against Russian Cyber Espionage Threat

The United States and its allies have warned of hacking activities carried out by a Russian cyber group that steals emails from Zimbra users without needing to trick victims into opening attachments or clicking malicious links. Cybersecurity firm Proofpoint described the attack as a ‘half-click exploit’, where hackers leverage a now-patched vulnerability in Zimbra software to take over systems merely after a user opens an email. ‘No social engineering is required,’ Proofpoint stated in a blog post outlining the espionage campaign.

In a 31-page security alert, police and intelligence agencies from the US, the Netherlands, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, the Czech Republic, and several other European countries accused the Russian government-backed hacking group Laundry Bear of orchestrating the espionage campaign. According to the agencies, the campaign initially targeted Ukraine on a massive scale before shifting focus to users in the US and other NATO member states. ‘This is deeply concerning because these thugs are testing their methods on victims in Ukraine before targeting NATO members,’ UK Security Minister Dan Jarvis said in a statement.

Laundry Bear is among several hacking groups accused by the US of working for Russian security agencies. Recent US charges link the group to a Russian cybersecurity firm named Yutek-NN. Yutek-NN’s deputy director, Denis Obrezko, faces hacking charges in Boston following his arrest in Thailand last year; he has pleaded not guilty. The Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did Yutek-NN. Moscow routinely denies involvement in hacking campaigns. Zimbra and its owner, Buffalo, New York-based Synacor, could not immediately be reached for comment. Like other digital intelligence collectors, Russian cyber spies routinely target email services. In April, Reuters reported that Russian hackers had breached numerous email accounts belonging to prosecutors and investigators across Ukraine.