Russian Hackers Toast to European Diplomats with GRAPELOADER Malware
APT29, also known as Cozy Bear, targets European diplomatic entities with a new malware, GRAPELOADER. The phishing campaign cleverly lures victims with fake wine-tasting invitations, delivering GRAPELOADER, a stealthy initial-stage tool. APT29’s sophisticated tactics, including advanced anti-analysis techniques, make detection as tricky as finding a corkscrew in a haystack.
Hot Take:
Who knew that Cozy Bear, the cyber equivalent of James Bond, would trade in their tux for a sommelier’s apron? APT29 is shaking things up with GRAPELOADER, proving that the only thing more sophisticated than a Russian espionage campaign is their palate for fine (and fake) wine-tasting events.
Key Points:
- APT29, a Russia-linked group, is targeting European diplomatic entities with a new malware named GRAPELOADER.
- The campaign uses phishing emails posing as invitations to fake wine-tasting events.
- GRAPELOADER is a stealthy initial-stage tool designed for fingerprinting, persistence, and payload delivery.
- The campaign also introduced a new variant of the WINELOADER malware with advanced evasion techniques.
- Both GRAPELOADER and WINELOADER are part of an APT29 toolkit with shared code structures and tactics.
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