NCC : GRU attacks highlight need for “informed dialogue within governments”

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has announced that Russia's military intelligence service, the GRU, was 'almost certainly responsible' for four high-profile cyber attacks that targeted firms in Russia and Ukraine, World Anti-Doping Agency computers, the US Democratic Party, and an unnamed small TV network in the UK.
Within its statement, the NCSC has named threat actors that have been publicly linked to the GRU by different security researchers, including the hacking group Fancy Bear, and has confirmed that in the view of British intelligence, this group and others all belong to the GRU.
Ollie Whitehouse, chief technical officer at NCC Group, said: 'The techniques used by the GRU are varied, and their tradecraft is evolving. The main goal of the group is ultimately to use credentials gained through successful attacks to access sensitive information for a wide range of current and future applications, from data theft in the guise of emails and documents through to potential disruption.
'The danger doesn't just stem from this group, but from the success of these campaigns. Democracies around the world are being targeted by a range of threat actors using a variety of methods, and we expect that cyber criminals will continue to target governments as long as they're inspired by the success of groups like Fancy Bear.
'It's therefore crucial to continue education and informed dialogue within governments worldwide around modern cyber threats, and ensure that staff at all levels are confident of the steps they need to take to address cyber risk. The release of these indicators by the UK Government is a clear sign that these types of wide-ranging operations will no longer be tolerated.'
ENDS

Published date: 04 October 2018