Hackers linked with Russian military and spy agencies have been on a spree in recent months to gather up intelligence that could help the Kremlin’s war effort in Ukraine by trying to infiltrate NATO, US and European government networks, cybersecurity experts who have responded to the hacks told CNN.
One Russian hacking group targeted the Turkish unit of NATO’s Rapid Deployable Corps, forces the alliance keeps on standby for war-fighting, according to US cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks, which shared its findings exclusively with CNN.
Another Russian group has targeted nearly two-dozen embassies in Kyiv over the last nine months, including the US embassy, Palo Alto Networks and other security firms have said.
It was unclear if the hackers successfully breached the NATO forces; the alliance did not respond to multiple requests for comment. But the unit would likely have “near-continual communications” with NATO headquarters, making it a coveted target for Russian spies, said Michael Sikorski, the chief technology officer of Unit 42, Palo Alto Networks’ threat intelligence division.
The hacking group – which US officials say operates on behalf of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency – has targeted governments and critical infrastructure for secrets in at least 10 NATO countries in the last several months, according to Palo Alto Networks.
The long running espionage campaigns show how, after European and American governments have expelled numerous Russian agents from their soil, the importance for the Kremlin of gathering intelligence remotely via hacking has grown, analysts said. And within Ukraine, after being repelled from taking Kyiv in February 2022, Russian forces are collecting intelligence remotely on diplomats in the capital through their hacking teams.
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