Russian hackers target former US ambassador to Ukraine in password theft attempt

Kremlin-affiliated hackers have launched a cyber attack on Steven Pifer, former US ambassador to Ukraine, in a bid to obtain his password.

As reported by Bloomberg, since February, the hackers have targeted former US government officials, academics, prominent Russian opposition figures in exile, and media organisations in their efforts to steal passwords. This information was detailed in reports released Wednesday (14 August) by Access Now and Citizen Lab.

In one instance, hackers attempted to deceive Steven Pifer, the US ambassador to Ukraine from 1998 to 2000, into handing over his password.

The hackers impersonated a former US ambassador known to Pifer to gain his trust and persuade him to enter his credentials on a malicious website. It has not been reported whether they succeeded in accessing Pifer's email account.

After analysing the malicious files that the hackers sent to the victims, the researchers concluded that the attackers were part of a group known as Cold River.

Western governments and cybersecurity firms have previously associated the Cold River group with Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB). In December, both the US and UK governments accused Cold River of participating in a broad array of cyber-espionage activities.

In July, the US Department of the Treasury announced sanctions against the leaders of the hacker group Cyber Army of Russia Reborn, which attempted to attack US critical infrastructure.

In May, the United States imposed sanctions on the leader of the Russian cybercriminal group LockBit, which was involved in attacks on US companies.