Finnish intelligence service warns of new Russian cyberattacks

The Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (Supo) has issued a new warning about cyber-espionage attempts targeting Finland by Russia and other authoritarian states.

Source: Finnish public service media company Yle, as reported by European Pravda

Details: On Friday, Supo, together with the Finnish Defence Intelligence Agency and the US National Security Agency (NSA), published a warning about a cyber threat actor operating with the support of the Russian state that targets corporate email systems.

The intelligence agencies said that companies and organisations should be aware of the activities of a little-known Russian threat group known as Laundry Bear.

They noted that Laundry Bear poses a serious cyber-espionage threat, particularly to organisations in public administration, critical infrastructure and the defence sector.

Quote: "Laundry Bear has targeted a wide range of victims, including military industry operators, state administration and other authorities, technology companies and third sector operators, Supo said in a statement."

Details: The group's main targets have been NATO countries, including Finland, as well as Ukraine.

"Laundry Bear has primarily attempted to break into the email systems of the targeted organisation, often using simple but effective methods such as social manipulation (e.g. impersonation) and stolen user IDs," Supo explained.

Background:

• On 13 July, the EU and the UK imposed sanctions on Russians considered responsible for systemic cyberattacks.
• Hungary also condemned the cyberattacks.

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