Google’s Threat Analysis Group Issues Warning About State-Sponsored Attacks
Hey, greetings from the San Francisco Bay Area! I’ve got some fascinating cyber-news to share about the world we live in today. Sit back, grab your morning coffee, and let’s dive in.
Firstly, you know Google, right? Well, they have this amazing group, the Threat Analysis Group, often shortened to TAG. These are the good guys, the superheroes of the digital universe. They look out for us, the users, from unseen cyber threats emanating from the dark corners of the web.
Here’s a crazy stat for you. Between July and September in 2019, TAG notified more than 12,000 users from a staggering 149 different countries about potential cyber attacks from their governments – yes, you read that right, their own governments!
TAG’s been actively studying cyber threats, assessing more than 270 specific groups linked to 50 different countries. (Talk about a global operation!) These groups are after some pretty serious stuff – espionage, intellectual property theft, targeting activists, wreaking cyber havoc, and spreading fake news. Scary, huh?
Interestingly though, more than 90% of these cyber-attacks involved the same old tricks: “credential phishing emails”. (I know, surprisingly low tech!) These emails aim to steal user login info and hijack their accounts. One particularly sneaky method was an email disguised as coming from “Goolge” (notice the clever misspelling?)
Circa late 2017, TAG noticed an interesting string of campaigns spearheaded by, get this, a Russia-related entity called “Sandworm”. (Yeah, I laughed too, sounded like a spy movie plot!) This group set its sights on Ukraine, even meddling with the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Sandworm’s modus operandi ranged from compromising legitimate Android apps with malware to spear-phishing attacks aimed at software and mobile app developers. Imagine buying a legitimate app that had been turned into a cyber backdoor!
Thank the digital gods for Google’s Play Protect team, who identified the malware early on, saving innocent users from a serious headache. Phew!
TAG’s responsibilities also include combatting disinformation. They’ve observed inauthentic news agencies being used to further Russian political interests in Africa. Can you believe it – digital propaganda in this day and age?
Without TAG’s vigilance, a campaign against Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua, a counter to the Free Papua Movement, could have been successful. Thanks for their quick action, YouTube terminated the associated accounts before a serious conflict flared up.
Living in our tech-saturated Bay Area bubble, it’s easy to forget the magnitude of impact that cyber activity has on global affairs. By starting discussions about these issues, we’re taking the first steps towards safeguarding our digital lifestyles. So, keep talking, reading, and most importantly, staying aware. Together, we can outsmart the cyber villains. Thanks for joining me today, and as always, stay safe in the digital world. Catch you next time!
by Morgan Phisher | HEAL Security