GoKawiilThe US State Department has announced a $10 million bounty for information that may help identify or locate members of two Russian state-backed hacking groups behind a campaign targeting Signal and WhatsApp users. Here are the details.
FBI steps up hunt for Russian hackers
As Ars Technica reports, the US is stepping up its efforts to track down the people behind an ongoing campaign that has compromised thousands of Signal and WhatsApp accounts.
The news comes after the FBI launched an investigation last March into phishing campaigns targeting high-value individuals, including “current and former US government officials, military personnel, political figures, and journalists.”
From Ars Technica:
Messages masquerading as automated support communications ask that users click a link or provide verification codes or account passcodes. In the event the user complies, they unknowingly link the attacker’s device to their account or have their account completely taken over and are locked out.
According to the FBI, the attackers have been trying to circumvent Signal’s protections that prevent linked devices from accessing previous conversations by instructing targets to create a backup and send them its recovery key.
The FBI attributes the attacks to two groups it tracks under the identifiers UNC5792 and UNC4221. US officials say the former is associated with the Russian Federal Security Service’s Border Guards, while the latter operates on behalf of Russian military intelligence.
Back to the $10 million reward, Ars Technica notes that it is being offered under the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program, and you can submit a tip here.
For Ars Technica’s full report, which includes examples of the phishing messages sent to targets, follow this link.
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