Russian Intelligence Attack on NATO ‘Logistics and Technology' Exposed
Russia's military intelligence is targeting logistics operations in NATO countries which help Ukraine, according to the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NSCS).
The NSCS, part of the U.K's GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) said that Russia's GRU Unit 26165 is trying to penetrate networks across defense and transport systems both in Ukraine and in several of its allies.
Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment.
Western leaders have raised the alarm over the cyber warfare that Russian hacker groups have engaged in since the start of Moscow' full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
These include accusations that Russia has conducted cyberattacks against Ukraine and on civilian infrastructure in Europe, and interfered in foreign elections. The NSCS report will reinforce these concerns.
The NSCS said the U.K. government and its allies had exposed a campaign of "malicious cyber activity" carried out by Russia's GRU military intelligence unit 26165, also known as APT 28, against western logistics entities and technology companies.
The unit, also known as 'Fancy Bear,' has raise the alarm among NATO allies with France accusing the unit in April of carrying out cyberattacks against its government ministries.
The U.K. and partners from ten countries found that it had conducted the operations against both public and private organizations since 2022, the NSCS said in its press release.
These included organizations across the defense sector, IT services, maritime, airports, ports and air traffic management systems and other sectors which help deliver support to Ukraine.
The GRU unit's activity included credential guessing, spear-phishing and exploiting Microsoft Exchange mailbox permissions. Russian intelligence also targeted internet-connected cameras at Ukrainian border crossings and near military installations.
The countries apart from Ukraine which were targeted were Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and the U.S.
No specific organizations were named and there was no information about whether the unit managed to obtain classified information.
The NCSC called on leaders at technology and logistics firms to recognize the elevated cyber threat and take immediate action to protect themselves.
Paul Chichester, NCSC Director of Operations: "This malicious campaign by Russia's military intelligence service presents a serious risk to targeted organizations, including those involved in the delivery of assistance to Ukraine."
Atlantic Council report released May 20: "American and Western policymakers must size up the threat, unpack the complexity of Russia's cyber web, and invest in the right proactive measures to enhance their security and resilience."
A report by the Atlantic Council released Tuesday concluded that Russia is a persistent and well-resourced cyber threat to the United States and its allies and partners, and the threat Moscow poses will continue to emerge in future.
Related Articles
Marco Rubio Refuses To Call Putin 'War Criminal', After Grilling Rex TillersonUS and Russia Flex Military Muscles on Same StageNATO Shows Force on Northern Flank with Russia as US Pulls BackUS Launches Nuclear-Capable Missile in Arms Race With Russia and China
2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Has Big Brother arrived? Inside the secretive Trump effort to centralize government data on millions of Americans
The Trump administration is reportedly leaning on an Elon Musk-allied tech company to build wide-ranging data tools pooling government information on millions of Americans and immigrants alike. The campaign has raised alarms from critics that the company could be furthering Musk's DOGE effort to vacuum up and potentially weaponize – or sell – mass amounts of sensitive personal data, particularly against vulnerable groups like immigrants and political dissidents. In March, the president signed an executive order dedicated to 'stopping waste, fraud, and abuse by eliminating information silos,' a euphemism for pooling vast stores of data on Americans under the federal government. To carry out the data effort, the administration has deepened the federal government's longstanding partnership with Palantir, a tech firm specializing in building big data applications, which was co-founded by Silicon Valley investor, GOP donor, and JD Vance mentor Peter Thiel. Since Trump took office, the administration has reportedly spent more than $113 million with Palantir through new and existing contracts, while the company is slated to begin work on a new $795 million deal with the Defense Department. Palantir is reportedly working with the administration in the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Internal Revenue Service, according to The New York Times. Within these agencies, the firm is reportedly building tools to track the movement of migrants in real time and streamline all tax data. The company is also reportedly in talks about deploying its technology at the Social Security Administration and the Department of Education, both of which have been targets of DOGE, and which store sensitive information about Americans' identities and finances. 'We act as a data processor, not a data controller,' the company insisted in response to the Times report. 'Our software and services are used under direction from the organizations that license our products. These organizations define what can and cannot be done with their data; they control the Palantir accounts in which analysis is conducted.' The Trump administration has reportedly pursued a variety of efforts to use big data to support its priorities, including social media surveillance of immigrants to detect alleged pro-terror views, and American activists who disagree wit Donal Trump's views.. Earlier this month, a group of former Palantir employees warned in an open letter that the company was 'normalizing authoritarianism under the guise of a 'revolution' led by oligarchs.' 'By supporting Trump's administration, Elon Musk's DOGE initiative, and dangerous expansions of executive power, they have abandoned their responsibility and are in violation of Palantir's Code of Conduct,' the employees wrote. Previous reporting from CNN and WIRED has described efforts at the Department of Homeland Security to build mass data tools to support tracking and surveilling undocumented immigrants, a key priority for the White House as deportations still aren't reaching levels necessary to meet Trump's promise of rapidly removing millions of people from the country. The effort has involved merging data from outside agencies like Social Security and the IRS, according to WIRED. 'They are trying to amass a huge amount of data,' a senior DHS official told the magazine. 'It has nothing to do with finding fraud or wasteful spending … They are already cross-referencing immigration with SSA and IRS, as well as voter data.' Since Trump took office, DOGE operatives, many of whom are unknown to the public nor have been vetted, have rapidly sought access to data at key agencies, including the Departments of Education and the Treasury, as well as the Social Security Administration, often over the objections of senior staff. The efforts have prompted scores of lawsuits against DOGE. At Social Security, the administration also moved thousands of living, mostly Latino undocumented immigrants into the agency's 'Death Master File' in an attempt to pressure them to leave the country. DOGE itself is reportedly under audit for its action by the Government Accountability Office, a federal watchdog. An April letter from Democrats on the House Oversight Committee warned of DOGE's 'extreme negligence and an alarmingly cavalier attitude' toward sensitive data. It claimed a whistleblower had described how 'DOGE engineers have tried to create specialized computers for themselves that simultaneously give full access to networks and databases across different agencies.' The 'whistleblower information obtained by the Committee, combined with public reporting, paints a picture of chaos at SSA [Social Security Administration] as DOGE is rapidly, haphazardly, and unlawfully working to implement changes that could disrupt Social Security payments and expose Americans' sensitive data,' the letter reads.'
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Community members, politicians react to approval of Central Park renovation designs
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (WTAJ)– If you've been to any recent Johnstown City Council meetings or spoken with community members it's clear that there is a divide on where people stand regarding the Central Park renovation project. 'If they're going to listen to the people directly, then I'm for it, but if it's just wham bam thank you ma'am just out the air, then no,' Johnstown resident Tereah Henderson said. Several people took advantage of the good weather on Friday morning to check out the farmer's market around Central Park. Some say that they hope a revitalized park will help create new events like it in the future. Johnstown companies awarded $256 million in military defense contracts 'I mean there's businesses down here and if they're still going to do a lot of these events close by, I don't see why it would hurt,' Johnstown Resident Vicky Cobaugh said. The City Council voted on Wednesday to approve the final plans for the project. The project uses funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to cover the cost of the $6 to $8 million renovation. More than one and a half million has already been spent in the design phase, and as for the rest of the money designated for the project, the city either has to use it or lose it. Using funds from the American rescue Plan Act has come under scrutiny throughout the discussions of the project, even from State Representative Frank Burns. 'We have a police station that is falling apart, and it needs attention quickly,' Burns said. Now whether that's a new police station, or building, building a new one, renovating the one that's already there, all that matters is that we have a suitable place for our police officers to work out of and protect the public. They could have used that money to hire more police officers. I've been touting that for 3 years now. That they should use this money to hire more officers but they chose the park as their top priority. ' 'Truthfully, I told them on Wednesday night to give the money back,' Republican Candidate for Mayor John Debartola said. Debartola said that he believes the project will devastate downtown businesses and is upset that it will remove some landmarks like the Pasquerilla Fountain. The plans also call for a new and expanded gazebo and a new Walk of Honor. Instead, Debartola said he would rather see repairs to the current design. 'Take a look at this park when you do a video pan, it needs improvements, it doesn't need eight million dollars,' Debartola said. 'It doesn't need two million spent on plans to friends and family.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
DOJ accuses foreign nationals of trying to export U.S. military technology to China and stalking dissenters of communist regime
Two foreign nationals were indicted by federal grand juries, accused of organizing the stalking and harassing of a dissenter of the People's Republic of China, and for trying to organize the exportation of U.S. military technology back to China. Cui Guanghai, 43, of China, and John Miller, 63, of the United Kingdom and a unidentified U.S. lawful permanent resident were indicted May 30 by federal grand juries in Milwaukee and Los Angeles. They've been charged with interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit interstate stalking and conspiracy, smuggling, and violations of the Arms Export Control Act. Beginning in or about November 2023, Miller and Cui obtained U.S. defense weapons and technology, including missiles, air defense radar, drones and cryptographic devices, for the purpose of export to China, according to prosecutors. According to the federal indictment, Cui and Miller used encryption technology to communicate with buyers and on or about December 2023, Miller communicated with someone only identified as Individual 1 about a "Christmas wish list" of "radar, technology, and stuff." Miller said he wanted to reverse engineer the technology and that buyers were "interested in the Western stuff," including night vision goggles and the armored plates that "go on armored vehicles and tanks that the Yanks have," the indictment said. The indictment details months of messages exchanged by Miller and Cui with unidentified people, where different weapon systems are discussed and monetary values and wire transfers are initiated. The men discussed exporting the devices in other household technology like computers and blenders, the indictment said. A wire transfer was made from a bank in the Los Angeles area to a Wisconsin bank account of an unidentified person that was provided to Cui for a portion of the deposit, according to the indictment. According to prosecutors, Cui and Miller also enlisted the help of people inside the U.S. to harass and stalk a victim that was an outspoken dissenter of the Chinese government. Unbeknownst to Cui and Miller, the people inside the U.S. offering to help them were actually affiliated with and acting at the direction of the FBI. The victim made public statements in opposition to Chinese President Xi Jinping's appearance at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation or APEC summit in November 2023. In the weeks leading up to the APEC summit, Cui and Miller directed and coordinated an interstate scheme to surveil the victim, to install a tracking device on the victim's car, to slash the tires on the victim's car, and to purchase and destroy a pair of artistic statues created by the victim depicting Xi and his wife, according to prosecutors. Cui and Miller also asked more FBI informants to harass the victim after he said he would depict the statues of Xi and his wife online in the spring of 2025, according to prosecutors. Cui and Miller are in Serbia and the U.S. is coordinating with Serbian authorities regarding extraditions. If convicted, Cui and Miller face the following maximum penalties: five years for conspiracy; five years for interstate stalking; 20 years for violation of the Arms Export Control Act; 10 years for smuggling. "The defendants allegedly plotted to harass and interfere with an individual who criticized the actions of the People's Republic of China while exercising their constitutionally protected free speech rights within the United States of America," FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said. "The same individuals also are charged with trying to obtain and export sensitive U.S. military technology to China. I want to commend the good work of the FBI and our partners in the U.S and overseas in putting a stop to these illegal activities." This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Prosecutors accuse men of exporting U.S. military technology to China
