Russian hackers are targeting CCTV cameras installed in coffee shops in Ukraine to gather intelligence on Western aid convoys moving on Ukrainian roads, according to a top US security official.
According to Rob Joyce, director of cybersecurity at the National Security Agency, this cyber-espionage effort was part of Russia’s ongoing offensive.
“There are continued attacks on Ukrainian interests, whether it’s financial, government, personal, individual business, just trying to be disruptive,” Joyce said at the Center for International and Strategic Studies think tank in Washington. “They are also hacking those webcams ... And instead of using the town square (cameras) that are available to the internet, they’re looking at the coffee shop security camera and seeing the road they need to see.”
He further added that Russian government and state-backed hackers are targeting US defense manufacturers and logistical transport companies to obtain information on the weapons supply chain to Ukraine.
In March, Microsoft revealed that a Russian military hacking group known as Strontium (APT28, Sednit, Sofacy, and Fancy Bear) exploited a then zero-day vulnerability in the Outlook email app (CVE-2023-23397) in a cyber-espionage campaign aimed at organizations in government, transportation, energy, and military sectors in Europe.
Ironically, less than a month later Ukrainian hacktivists breached an email account belonging to Sergey Morgachev, APT28’s suspected leader, and leaked personal documents shedding light on his personal life and his current place of residence and service, as well as people associated with him.