Russian hackers launched new attacks less than six hours after Donald Trump was proclaimed as the next president of the United States, according to cybersecurity company Volexity.
The attacks were in the form of targeted phishing campaigns, and the targets were political think tanks and non-government organizations in the United States.
Who Are The Russian Hackers?
In Volexity's blog post covering the incidents, the cybersecurity company calls the hacking group as The Dukes, though they are also known as Cozy Bear and APT29. The group of hackers have been previously tied to the security breaches suffered by the Democratic National Committee and several high-profile organizations in the United States government.
The group is believed to have started targeting NGOs and research organizations in July of last year, and that it had access to the systems of the Democratic National Committee for over a year.
What Kind Of Hacking Attack Was Launched?
According to Volexity, the attacks that The Dukes launched after the proclamation that Trump had won the United States presidential election were very similar to what the group launched in the past. Making its appearance once again was the PowerDuke malware, a backdoor that was first used by the group in August.
The Dukes sent out phishing emails to its targets, with the emails being very cleverly crafted to entice possible victims to open them. The emails claimed to contain the truth behind election rigging, or promised documents which show the flaws of the United States presidential election. The hackers then launched additional waves of emails that claimed to have come from members of the Clinton Foundation.
The Goal Of The Phishing Attempt
The hackers sent out the phishing emails as they looked to gain long-term access to the systems of their targets, similar to how they were able to infiltrate the systems of the Democratic National Committee. By gaining access to think tanks and NGOs, The Dukes will have more channels from which it could acquire sensitive information regarding the United States government and its policies.
Is The Government Of Russia Behind These Attacks?
Last month, the United States government officially accused Russia of being the mastermind of hacking attacks that have been launched in the country, with Russia said to be looking to interfere with the national elections. The government of the United States might be planning to retaliate in some way, but engaging in an all-out cyberwar against Russia is not a good idea.
There have also been accusations that Trump is actually supported by Russia, with a recent report said to reveal that the largest private commercial bank of Russia has been communicating with a server of the Trump Organization. Trump's camp, however, has strongly denied the claims.
