The hacker group APT31 (also known as Hurricane Panda and Zirconium), linked to the Chinese authorities, attacked Russian companies for the first time. SecurityLab reports, citing Positive Technologies researchers.<\/p>\n
In the first half of 2021, APT31 also conducted a series of attacks in Mongolia, the United States, Canada and Belarus.<\/p>\n
According to researchers, since the spring of this year the group has begun using new intrusion methods. The attackers use phishing email campaigns with links to a compromised site imitating a government body’s domain. When a user visits the page, a Trojan is downloaded to the device, installing a special application and creating a malicious library.<\/p>\n
Positive Technologies did not disclose which Russian companies were targeted.<\/p>\n
Experts do not expect a decline in APT31’s attack activity in the near future, and therefore advise organisations to thoroughly monitor cybersecurity.<\/p>\n
The U.S. State Department is offering $10 million<\/a> for information that could identify the hackers who work for foreign governments and are preparing attacks on the country’s critical infrastructure. The reward will be paid in cryptocurrency.<\/p>\n