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Russian Defense Firms Hit by AI-Enabled Cyber Espionage Linked to Pro-Ukrainian Hackers
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Russian defense and technology firms were targeted in recent weeks by a cyber-espionage campaign that researchers linked to “Paper Werewolf,” a hacking group also known as GOFFEE that has been active since 2022 and is widely believed to be pro-Ukrainian, according to Reuters on December 19.
Cybersecurity firm Intezer stated that the campaign employed AI-generated decoy documents and other tactics to deceive employees at Russian organizations involved in air defense and sensitive electronics into opening malicious files.
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Intezer researcher Nicole Fishbein said the case offered a rare view into intrusions against Russian entities, adding: “This isn’t necessarily because those attacks are rare, but because visibility into them is limited,” Reuters reported.
The lures included Russian-language materials, such as what appeared to be an invitation to a concert for high-ranking officers and correspondence claiming to come from Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, Reuters reported.
Oleg Shakirov, a Russian cyber policy researcher, said, “There’s nothing unusual about pro-Ukrainian hackers trying to gather information on Russian defense companies during the war,” the outlet added.
Earlier, it was reported that Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence carried out a cyberattack on the Russian UAV supplier, Gaskar Integration, which disrupted its systems and enabled access to extensive technical data related to drone production.
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