Google Alerts Millions of Chrome and Safari Users After Russian Cyberattack
Following a nine-month cyberattack linked to Russian spies, Google is urging users to “apply patches quickly” and “keep software fully up-to-date.”
The recent Russian cyberattack involved commercial spyware from a Greek company called Intellexa, which is based in Cyprus. The U.S. government had previously sanctioned Intellexa in March for misusing surveillance tools.
This Russian cyberattack used Intellexa’s spyware, which has been linked to attacks in several countries, including Ireland, Vietnam, and the United States.
Fortunately, most of the vulnerabilities exploited by this Russian cyberattack have been fixed for users who updated their software. Apple iOS and Safari users received updates in September 2023, which resolved the issues. For Google Chrome users on Windows, macOS, and Linux, the vulnerabilities were fixed by May 2024.
Google Warns of Russian Cyberattack Targeting Safari and Chrome
Google’s Threat Analysis Group discovered the Russian cyberattack and informed Apple, Android, and Google Chrome about the security issues. According to Google security engineer Clément Lecigne, the Russian cyberattack is believed to be linked to APT29, a Russian government-backed group also known as Cozy Bear or Group 100. APT29 is thought to be associated with Russia’s foreign spy agency, SVR. Evidence of their activities included malware found on Mongolian government websites, showing their espionage goals.
Google also alerted the Mongolian CERT (Cybersecurity Emergency Response Teams) to help clean up the infected sites. Google’s cybersecurity experts warned that similar Russian attacks could become more frequent, potentially being carried out by other sophisticated groups using the same spyware tools.
