Category Archives: Ghostwriter

Mandiant links Belarus to Ghostwriter campaign, which leaked stolen data and pushed disinformation

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The Belarusian government is partially responsible for a years-long influence operation targeting Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, according to research published Tuesday. Operation “Ghostwriter,” a propaganda campaign that has pushed fabricated narratives about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and COVID-19, among other topics, is the work of people in Belarus, including the country’s military, as part of an overall effort to hack and leak information, pollute political discourse with amplified narratives, and collect intelligence, according to the threat intelligence firm Mandiant, which has tracked the group for years. Investigators, including from the European Union, previously suggested that the operation aligned with Russian interests, as the social media campaigns apparently sought to sow mistrust in NATO’s military presence in Eastern Europe, a frequent goal of the Kremlin. The findings show that complex information operations once associated with Russia and China have become more common, Ben Read, director of Mandiant’s cyber espionage team, told […]

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Secondary Infektion, a Russian disinformation outfit, impersonated Swedish lawmaker

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A suspected Russian disinformation campaign used manipulated images and fabricated internet personas to promote false narratives online in an effort to sow mistrust in Sweden and Europe, according to new findings. The propaganda effort known as Secondary Infektion is “highly likely” behind an effort that involved a photoshopped screenshot meant to appear as if it originated on the website of Sweden’s Riksdag, the national legislature, the threat intelligence company Recorded Future said in a report published Tuesday. Secondary Infektion is an operation dating back at least two years, with researchers blaming the suspected Russian outfit for forging documents, stirring outrage via social media and generating negative sentiment around the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in countries such as Ukraine. Researchers have pointed to Secondary Infektion as an example of political warfare that uses digital means to try to destabilize foreign governments. In the latest case, Recorded Future investigators observed an account […]

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EU takes aim at Russia over ‘Ghostwriter’ hacking campaign against politicians, government officials

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The European Union formally blamed Russia on Friday, just ahead of this weekend’s German elections, for a hacking campaign targeting EU government officials and politicians. And the EU is threatening to take unspecified action. “The European Union will revert to this issue in upcoming meetings and consider taking further steps,” reads a statement from the high representative of the EU. Known as Ghostwriter, the campaign drawing the EU’s ire has previously taken aim at NATO and launched disinformation efforts as well, according to researchers who have tied its goals to Russian interests but not attributed it to the government. “The European Union and its Member States strongly denounce these malicious cyber activities, which all involved must put to an end immediately,” the EU statement reads. “We urge the Russian Federation to adhere to the norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace.” The EU says that Ghostwriter targets in its member […]

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Suspected Russian operatives tried to stir far right outrage about COVID-19 on 4chan

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Operators of an apparent Russian propaganda campaign shared coronavirus disinformation in an effort to influence the American far-right, according to a report out Tuesday by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.  The findings are included in a new report shedding light on a long-running Russian propaganda campaign known as Operation Secondary Infektion. The years-long campaign has used regional European websites, forged documents and throwaway accounts to further Russia’s political agenda in Europe. Secondary Infektion is perhaps best known for spreading disinformation through small, local websites, then promoting fabricated narratives on social media, with mixed success. Secondary Infektion promotes narratives in line with Russia’s political agenda in Europe, leading researchers to believe the group supports Russia’s intelligence apparatus. Since 2014 the group has staged a number of campaigns, including using fake tweets from accounts like Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. to spread a false narrative that British citizens planned to assassinate Prime Minister Boris […]

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