Russians Used Malware On Android Devices To Track and Target Ukraine Artillery, Says Report (reuters.com)

schwit1 quotes a report from Reuters: A hacking group linked to the Russian government and high-profile cyber attacks against Democrats during the U.S. presidential election likely used a malware implant on Android devices to track and target Ukrainian artillery units from late 2014 through 2016, according to a new report released Thursday. The malware was able to retrieve communications and some locational data from infected devices, intelligence that would have likely been used to strike against the artillery in support of pro-Russian separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine, the report from cyber security firm CrowdStrike found. The hacking group, known commonly as Fancy Bear or APT 28, is believed by U.S. intelligence officials to work primarily on behalf of the GRU, Russia's military intelligence agency. The implant leveraged a legitimate Android application developed by a Ukrainian artillery officer to process targeting data more quickly, CrowdStrike said. Its deployment "extends Russian cyber capabilities to the front lines of the battlefield," the report said, and "could have facilitated anticipatory awareness of Ukrainian artillery force troop movement, thus providing Russian forces with useful strategic planning information."

Comments

Next: There Was No Tea Tax!

[Mikkeles]

In 1773, the Russians hacked the mail ships and inserted the message that there was to be a Tea Tax.

The American revolution was an error!

Re:Why?

[Swave An deBwoner]

And imagine someone downvoting your informative post. No, wait -- no imagination is necessary, some crank already did exactly that.

Re:Why?

[skids]

We have to call it what it is: "Russian Cyber Espionage". This is "Russian cyber espionage" and Trump won't even mention the word, and nor will Rex Tillerson. He won't use the term ‘Russian cyber espionage,’ Now, to solve a problem, you have to be able to state what the problem is or at least say the name. Trump won't say the name and Tillerson won't say the name. But the name is there. It's "Russian cyber espionage."