Threat intelligence
- Suspected origin
- Russia
- First seen
- 2004-01-01 00:00:00
- Motivation
- Information theft and espionage
- Targeted sectors
- Automotive, Aviation, Chemical, Construction, Defense, Education, Embassies, Energy, Engineering, Financial, Government, Healthcare, Industrial, IT, Media, NGOs, Oil and gas, Think Tanks
- TLP
- WHITE
APT 28 is a threat group that has been attributed to Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian General Staff by a July 2018 U.S. Department of Justice indictment. This group reportedly compromised the Hillary Clinton campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2016 in an attempt to interfere with the U.S. presidential election. APT 28 has been active since at least January 2007.
(FireEye) APT28 likely seeks to collect intelligence about Georgia’s security and political dynamics by targeting officials working for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Defense.
APT28 has demonstrated interest in Eastern European governments and security organizations. These victims would provide the Russian government with an ability to predict policymaker intentions and gauge its ability to influence public opinion.
APT28 appeared to target individuals affiliated with European security organizations and global multilateral institutions. The Russian government has long cited European security organizations like NATO and the OSCE as existential threats, particularly during periods of increased tension in Europe.
Sofacy may be related to Hades, but it could be a false flag as well.
Also known as
APT 28APT28ATK 5Blue AthenaBlueDeltaFancy BearFighting UrsaForest BlizzardFROZENLAKEG0007Grey-CloudGrizzly SteppeGroup 74GruesomeLarchIron TwilightITG05Pawn StormSednitSIG40SnakemackerelSofacyStrontiumSwallowtailT-APT-12TA422TAG-0700TAG-110TG-4127Threat Group-4127Tsar TeamUAC-0028UAC-0063
Vulnerabilities exploited
Tooling and malware
ADVSTORESHELLCannonCHOPSTICKCORESHELLDealersChoiceDowndelphDrovorubFysbisHIDEDRVJHUHUGITKomplexLAMEHUGLoJaxOLDBAITreGeorgUSBStealerXAgentOSXXTunnelZebrocycertutilcipher.exeForfilesKoadicMimikatzNetResponderTorWevtutilWinexe
MITRE ATT&CK techniques
T1005 Data from Local SystemT1025 Data from Removable MediaT1039 Data from Network Shared DriveT1113 Screen CaptureT1119 Automated CollectionT1213 Data from Information RepositoriesT1560 Archive Collected DataT1092 Communication Through Removable MediaT1105 Ingress Tool TransferT1003 OS Credential DumpingT1040 Network SniffingT1110 Brute ForceT1528 Steal Application Access TokenT1057 Process DiscoveryT1083 File and Directory DiscoveryT1120 Peripheral Device DiscoveryT1203 Exploitation for Client ExecutionT1030 Data Transfer Size LimitsT1567 Exfiltration Over Web ServiceT1498 Network Denial of ServiceT1189 Drive-by CompromiseT1190 Exploit Public-Facing ApplicationT1199 Trusted RelationshipT1669 Wi-Fi NetworksT1091 Replication Through Removable MediaT1210 Exploitation of Remote ServicesT1133 External Remote ServicesT1068 Exploitation for Privilege EscalationT1591 Gather Victim Org InformationT1596 Search Open Technical DatabasesT1598 Phishing for InformationT1014 RootkitT1036 MasqueradingT1078 Valid AccountsT1140 Deobfuscate/Decode Files or InformationT1211 Exploitation for StealthT1221 Template Injection
Coverage 13
threat-intel
Several cybersecurity events were highlighted this week, including a reassessment of the Log4j vulnerability as ‘non-finding,’ a ransomware attack against Paylogix exposing sensitive data, and US sanctions against Irania…
threat-intel
Operational Technology (OT) systems present a significant challenge for cybersecurity due to the lack of traditional security telemetry and the difficulty in tracing attacker activity after they move from IT networks int…

threat-intel
APT28-linked threat actors, tracked as BlueDelta, have been deploying a new backdoor named HOOKEDGE to target European government and diplomatic organizations since late 2025. HOOKEDGE, a lightweight Windows batch script…

threat-intel
Ukraine’s Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA), responsible for seizing assets from sanctioned Russians, has been targeted by a cyberattack as it prepares to select a manager for IDS Ukraine, a major bottled water…

threat-intel
Russian state-sponsored hackers, linked to the Midnight Blizzard group (part of APT29), are compromising hotel Wi-Fi networks worldwide to steal traveler login credentials and install espionage malware. The campaign uses…

threat-intel
A sophisticated campaign, dubbed CaptiveCrunch, is leveraging hijacked hotel Wi-Fi networks to deliver surveillance malware – specifically CornFlake, a remote access trojan – to unsuspecting guests. The attacks are orche…

threat-intel
A threat actor is exploiting vulnerabilities in public Wi-Fi gateways, particularly at hotels and conference centers, to steal corporate credentials, including Microsoft 365 accounts, and is leveraging tactics similar to…
threat-intel
CERT-UA has warned of a new phishing campaign led by the UAC-0099 threat cluster (linked to Russia) utilizing a malicious Notepad++ plugin to deliver the MATCHBOIL.V2 malware. The campaign begins with a phishing email co…

threat-intel
Russian state-sponsored threat actors, dubbed ‘Laundry Bear,’ have been exploiting a zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2025-66376) in Zimbra Collaboration Suite to target Western governments and enterprises, including US and U…

malware
This report details a concerning trend in malware delivery – the evolution of ClickFix, a technique where users are tricked into running malicious code by hand. Researchers have uncovered a new API-driven approach to gen…

threat-intel
Canadian spy agency, CSIS, utilized a novel court-ordered warrant to neutralize two foreign-run botnets operating within Canada. The operation targeted infected servers, SOHO routers, and IoT devices like Ring doorbells…

threat-intel
The Gamaredon group is exploiting a WinRAR vulnerability (CVE-2025-8088) to deploy a multi-stage malware campaign targeting Ukraine. This campaign utilizes GammaWorm and GammaSteel, designed for data theft and persistenc…
