State-sponsored Attack Groups Capitalise on Russia-Ukraine War for Cyber Espionage

Introduction

Geopolitical tensions often make headlines and present a golden opportunity for threat actors to exploit the situation, especially those targeting high-profile victims. In the past month while the Russian invasion of Ukraine was unfolding, Check Point Research (CPR) has observed advanced persistent threat (APT) groups around the world launching new campaigns, or quickly adapting ongoing ones to target victims with spear-phishing emails using the war as a lure. The attackers use decoys ranging from official-looking documents to news articles or even job postings, depending on the targets and region. Many of these lu…