The same Russian hackers who penetrated the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 election also tried to cyberattack key U.S. military defense programs including those managing drones, missiles, rockets, stealth fighter jets and cloud-computing platforms.
The hackers, known as Fancy Bear, targeted email communications at both small companies and defense giants like Lockheed Martin Corp., Raytheon Co., Boeing Co., Airbus Group and General Atomics, according to an Associated Press investigation.
What may have been stolen is unclear. But the cyberspies reportedly took advantage of poorly protected email and shoddy notification of victims.
The companies targeted by Fancy Bear — a cyber espionage group that military analysts link to the Russian intelligence agency GRU — declined to comment, according to the report.
“The programs that they appear to target and the people who work on those programs are some of the most forward-leaning, advanced technologies,” former Director of National Intelligence senior adviser, Charles Sowell, told the AP after reviewing Fancy Bear’s target list.
“And if those programs are compromised in any way,” he added, “then our competitive advantage and our defense is compromised.”
The AP identified Fancy Bear’s prey from about 19,000 lines of the hackers’ email phishing data collected by the U.S.-based cybersecurity company Secureworks, which calls the hackers Iron Twilight. The data is partial and extends from March 2015 to May 2016.
Most of the almost 90 people on the target list worked on classified projects. Yet as many as 40 percent clicked on the hackers’ phishing links, the AP analysis indicates. That’s the first step in potentially opening their accounts or computer files to digital theft.
Hackers predominantly targeted personal Gmail, with a few corporate accounts mixed in. Personal accounts can convey classified information — whether through carelessness or expediency — and lead to more valuable targets or carry embarrassing personal details that can be used for blackmail or to recruit spies.
Among their interests, the Russians seemed to be eyeing the X-37B, an American unmanned space plane that looks like a miniature shuttle.
The hackers also chased people who work on cloud-based services, the off-site computer networks that enable collaborators to work with data that is sometimes classified.
The AP noted that of 31 targets it contacted, just one got a warning from U.S. officials.
The DNC hacks of 2015 and 2016 resulted in the massive leakage of party emails showing infighting between the camps of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
The controversy was seen as key to Ms. Clinton’s eventual loss to Republican Donald Trump. However, only a private firm, not federal investigators, studied the actual server that was hacked.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Dan Boylan can be reached at dboylan@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.