US and allies say Russian hackers stole emails without social engineering

By Raphael Satter

WASHINGTON, July 23 (Reuters) - ‌The United ​States and ​more than a dozen allied nations said on Thursday that Russian hackers stole emails from users of the Zimbra email program without ‌having to fool them into opening an attachment or clicking ⁠a link.

The trick, which cybersecurity firm Proofpoint described as a "half-click exploit," leveraged a now-patched weakness in ‌Zimbra software that allowed a ‌hacker to compromise it after a user simply opened an email.

"No social engineering required," Proofpoint said in a blog post outlining the hacking campaign.

In a ​31-page alert about the hacking, police and intelligence agencies from the U.S., the Netherlands, Canada, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, the Czech Republic and other ⁠European nations blamed what they said was a Russian government-supported hacking group Laundry Bear for the spy ​campaign. They said the campaign heavily targeted Ukraine before hitting users in the U.S. and other members of the NATO military alliance.

"It’s ​particularly concerning that these thugs tested their ‌methods on victims in Ukraine, before targeting members of NATO," British Security Minister Dan Jarvis said in a statement.

Laundry Bear is ⁠one of several hacking groups the U.S. alleges are working for Russian security services. A U.S. indictment filed this month tied the group to a Russian cybersecurity company called ⁠Yutek-NN, whose deputy director, Denis Obrezko, faces hacking-related charges in Boston following his arrest in ​Thailand last year. He has pleaded not guilty.

The Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Yutek-NN has not responded to repeated requests for comment. ‌Moscow typically denies participating in hacking campaigns.

Zimbra and its owner, Buffalo, New York-based Synacor, could not be immediately reached for ‌comment.

Like other digital intelligence gatherers, Russian cyber spies routinely target email services. In April, ⁠Reuters reported Russian hackers had ‌broken into scores of email ​accounts belonging to prosecutors and investigators across Ukraine.

(Reporting by Raphael Satter and Anton Zverev; Additional reporting by Sam Tabahriti; Editing by ‌Rod Nickel)

---

Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

---

You May Also Be Interested In

• Explainer-Can Ukraine hold elections while at war?
• Israel opens criminal probes over killings of Hind Rajab and Gaza rescue workers, military says
• Fish, ships and sovereignty: Iceland weighs its European future