STRONTIUM

April 25, 2022

On April 7, Microsoft said it had disrupted cyberattacks from a Russian nation-state hacking group. The group called ‘Strontium’ by the software company targeted Ukrainian firms, media organisations, government bodies, and think tanks in the U.S. and the EU.

About:

  • Strontium is also known as Fancy Bear, Tsar Team, Pawn Storm, Sofacy, Sednit or Advanced Persistent Threat 28 (APT28) group.

  • It is a highly active and prolific cyber-espionage group. It is one of the most active APT groups and has been operating since at least the mid-2000s

  • The group is said to be connected to the GRU, the Russian Armed Forces’ main military intelligence wing.

How does it attack networks?

  • The group deploys diverse malware and malicious tools to breach networks. In the past, it has used X-Tunnel, SPLM (or CHOPSTICK and X-Agent), GAMEFISH and Zebrocy to attack targets.

  • APT28 uses spear-phishing (targeted campaigns to gain access to an individual’s account) and zero-day exploits (taking advantage of unknown computer-software vulnerabilities) to target specific individuals and organisations.

Source : The Hindu