Russian Hackers Trick Academics and Diplomats Into Giving Them Access to Email and WhatsApp
Brief
Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) has uncovered three suspected Russian cyber-espionage clusters targeting academics, diplomats, defense staff, government personnel, and think-tank researchers in Europe and the United States.
The groups UNC6293, UNC7005, and UNC5976 abuse legitimate account-authentication features to steal access to email, Microsoft 365, Google, and WhatsApp accounts.
The campaigns rely on convincing social-engineering lures rather than obvious malicious attachments.
Attackers impersonate trusted organizations, including the U. S. State Department , conference organizers, Microsoft services, WhatsApp, and defense-sector entities. Their invitations commonly refer to diplomatic meetings, security events, file sharing, or private calls.