Sandworm

Russian-linked attackers continue to target Ukrainian organizations with a focus on espionage and persistent access. The intrusions involved the use of webshells, living-off-the-land tactics, and minimal malware deployment to harvest credentials and sensitive data. Techniques included memory dumping, registry exfiltration, and disabling security tools, indicating a highly skilled and stealthy threat actor.

Ukraine's CERT has identified a campaign by threat cluster UAC-0099 that abuses Notepad++ plugins to stealthily deploy malware. The attackers distribute a malicious archive containing a legitimate Notepad++ installation alongside a malicious plugin named NppExport.dll, which loads the LunchPoke utility to establish persistence. LunchPoke extracts and executes BurnyBear, a loader for the MatchBoil V2 malware, enabling further malicious activity including scheduled task creation and C2 communication.

Russian state-sponsored threat actor UAC-0145, a sub-cluster of Sandworm affiliated with GRU, has been conducting cyberattacks against Ukrainian targets using the ClickFix social engineering technique. The attackers compromise websites and inject fake CAPTCHA checks that prompt users to execute malicious PowerShell commands, leading to malware infection. These commands download and execute malware such as GHETTOVIBE, SCOUTCURL, and COWARDDUCK, enabling data theft and remote control. The campaign also involves backdooring Android devices via malicious APKs distributed as security tools.

The European Union and the United Kingdom have jointly imposed sanctions on Russian individuals and entities linked to state-sponsored cyberattacks. The targeted groups include GRU officers, FSB-affiliated hackers such as the Turla group, and cybercriminals involved in operations like the Lumma Stealer malware. These actors are accused of conducting cyberespionage, targeting critical infrastructure across Europe, and supporting disinformation campaigns. The sanctions follow a series of attacks on energy grids and government institutions, including failed attempts to disrupt Poland's power infrastructure.

Spanish authorities have arrested a man suspected of being an active member of the pro-Russian hacktivist groups CyberArmy of Russia Reborn (CARR) and Z-Pentest. He allegedly provided logistical and operational support to a Ukrainian hacker within CARR and facilitated escape routes to Russia. The groups have been linked to attacks on critical infrastructure in the U.S. and Europe, including SCADA systems, and are loosely associated with the Russian state-backed APT44 (Sandworm). The suspect also participated in operations attributed to the hacktivist group NoName057(16), which promotes pro-Russian and anti-Western narratives.