The PolySwarm Blog

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Background

PolySwarm recently published a Special Report, Threat Bulletin, and blog posts discussing Russia-Ukraine tensions and the potential for both kinetic and cyber conflict. In Russia-Ukraine Conflict and Cyberwar Implications, we discussed political tensions between Russia and Ukraine, past cyber altercations between the two nations, and potential cyber and kinetic implications if the current conflict escalates. In Armageddon Activity Targeting Ukraine, we provided commentary and IOCs for ongoing cyber activity targeting Ukraine, which industry analysts attributed to the Russian state-sponsored threat actor group Armageddon.

Background

Last week we released a report and blog post on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, past cyber altercations between the two nations, and potential cyber implications if the current conflict escalates. In our report, we mentioned historical activity perpetrated by the threat actor group Armageddon. Palo Alto’s Unit 42 recently reported ongoing activity targeting Ukraine, which they attributed to Armageddon, also known in the industry as Gameredon or Primitive Bear. While Unit 42 did not elaborate on the magnitude or implications of these attacks, they did provide a breakdown of Armageddon’s infrastructure.

Overview

• Ongoing political tensions between Russia and Ukraine are at a breaking point, with the US and other NATO nations preparing to assist Ukraine if a military conflict arises.
• Russia and Ukraine have a long history of state-sponsored cyber conflicts, including both espionage and disruptive attacks.
• Recent cyber activity targeting Ukraine includes multiple government website defacements and WhisperGate, a wiper malware disguised as ransomware. IOCs for PolySwarm’s samples of WhisperGate are provided.
• Hacktivists recently attacked Belarus Railway to protest Russian troop transport and demand the release of “political prisoners.” This incident marked the first time hacktivists have leveraged ransomware in pursuit of political objectives.
• The cyber struggle between Russia and Ukraine has the potential to spill over and have a real-world kinetic impact. Our analysts provide a list of implications.