Microsoft has shared its latest insights into election security intelligence. The advisory mentions three threat actors – including APT28, otherwise known as Fancy Bear.
APT28 promotes the political interests of the Russian government, and is known for hacking Democratic National Committee emails to attempt to influence the outcome of the United States 2016 presidential elections.
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The targeting of political organizations is a common feature of cyber espionage. Parties and campaigns are good sources of intelligence on future policy, but APT28’s unique history raises the prospect of follow-on information operations or other devastating activity. In addition to the hack and leak campaign during the 2016 election, the GRU has carried out many of the most brash and aggressive cyber operations to ever come to light, such as the economically devastating NotPetya attacks and the attempted disruption of the Pyeongchang Olympic Games. The GRU routinely violates international norms and has not been dissuaded by indictments and other attempts to halt their malicious activity\”.