Ukraine attacked by cyberspies as tensions escalated in recent months

[okaawhatever]

Ukrainian computer systems have been targeted by at least 22 attacks launched by "committed and well-funded professionals" since January 2013, BAE found. While BAE didn't identify the source of the attacks, a German company said the espionage software has "Russian roots"

The spies used "snake" malware that allowed them to gain control of the computer systems of large organisations and steal information, according to the report from BAE's Applied Intelligence unit. Snake's design "suggests that attackers possess an arsenal of infiltration tools and bears all the hallmarks of a highly sophisticated cyber operation," BAE said.

SNIP

While Ukraine was the most frequently targeted by Snake malware, it is not alone. BAE identified 56 attacks that took place since 2010. Thirty-two were directed at Ukraine and 11 at Lithuania, another former Soviet republic. The UK was subject to four attacks, with two each directed at the US, Georgia and Belgium.

SNIP

"What this research once more demonstrates is how organised and well-funded adversaries are using highly sophisticated tools and techniques to target legitimate organisations on a massive scale," he said in a statement. "Although there has been some awareness of the Snake malware for some years, until now the full scale of its capabilities could not be revealed, and the threat it presents is clearly something that needs to be taken much more seriously.

Continued at Link:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/09/ukraine-attacked-cyberspies-tensions-computer

[dipsydoodle]

1. Thought to be upgraded gear from 2008 - attack not unique to Ukraine.

Last week, the Researchers at the German security company G Data Software have reported about the most complex and sophisticated rootkit malware, Uroburos which is designed to steal data from secure facilities and has ability to take control of an infected machine, execute arbitrary commands and hide system activities.

Recently, British cyber specialist BAE has disclosed the parent Russian malware campaign dubbed as ‘SNAKE’ that remained almost undetected for least eight years while penetrating highly secured systems. Uroburos rootkit was one of the components of this campaign.

In a separate Investigation, Western intelligence officers have found another piece of spyware , infecting hundreds of government computers across Europe and the United States, known as 'Turla'. Researchers believed that Turla campaign is linked to a previously known campaign 'Red October', a massive global cyber spying operation targeting diplomatic, military and nuclear research networks.

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The practice was previously known as Agent.BTZ that came to the surface in 2008 when US Department of Defense sources claimed that its classified networks had been breached by an early version of the same virus. It has since been developed with many advanced features that make it even more flexible and sophisticated than before, BAE said.

According to BAE Systems Applied Intelligence, the malware campaign has been seen mostly in Eastern Europe, but also in the US, UK and other Western European countries. The malware can infiltrate Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8-based systems.

http://thehackernews.com/2014/03/sophisticated-russian-malware-snake-and.html

[Cha]

2. Kick