FSB-linked Star Blizzard attempts to lure email recipients to click on QR code that gives attackers access to account

Summary

Russian state-linked hacking group Star Blizzard, tied to the FSB, targeted WhatsApp accounts of global ministers and officials via phishing emails.

The emails, disguised as invitations to join Ukraine-related WhatsApp groups, trick recipients into scanning QR codes that grant attackers access to their accounts and messages.

The campaign, active until November, also targeted diplomats, defense officials, and researchers.

Microsoft and the UK’s NCSC highlighted the group’s focus on undermining trust in politics. Microsoft urged vigilance against malicious emails, especially those containing external links or QR codes.

  • @yesmanEnglish
    6•14 hours ago

    This is crazy in it’s lack of sophistication. Reads more like a criminal scam to get grandma’s credit card than an intelligence op to destabilize Western Europe.

    I suppose all the talented “hackers” were more valuable at the front.