New Destructive Malware Targeting Government Agencies & Organizations

The cybersecurity researchers at Microsoft have recently reported that on the websites of some Ukrainian organizations and government agencies, hackers are constantly attacking with malicious software and malware.

It has been noted that the malicious software used looks like ransomware, but without a ransom mechanism. In short, it is used by the attackers to disrupt the affected systems only, not to demand any ransom payments.

While since January 13 Microsoft has recorded similar software and malware on dozens of systems. However, till now in the group that is behind these attacks, there is no substantial overlap between the unique characteristics has been detected.

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But, Microsoft has confirmed that they are still continuing their investigation and tracking each activity.  

Affected organizations

Due to these attacks and malware, several organizations were affected and here they are:-

• Government agencies that provide critical executive branch or emergency response functions.
• An IT firm that operates websites for clients of both the public and private sectors.
• Websites Government agencies.

Here’ what Microsoft stated:-

“We are aware of current geopolitical developments in Ukraine and other regions. But, we have also notified each of the impacted organizations we have identified so far, partnered with other cybersecurity providers to share what we know, and notified appropriate government agencies in the United States and elsewhere.”

But, Microsoft has already alerted all the affected organizations, and strongly recommended them to execute a brief investigation of the incident. As of now, there are no accusations or speculation have been confirmed about who is behind these attacks.

Moreover, after identifying this malware Microsoft has promptly deployed all the necessary protections into the following products:-

• Microsoft 365 Defender Endpoint Detection (EDR)
• Anti-virus (AV) protections

While so far there no such trace has been detected or reported about the exploitation of this vulnerability in the products and services of Microsoft.