A post-soviet split nation, the Czech Republic has accused Russia of breaking into mailboxes of superior Government Officials of the country without authorization. The BIS Annual Report talks of the annual developments in securities in the Czech Republic which makes it clear that these attacks date back to 2016-17.
Turla and APT28 have reportedly been identified as the hackers who targeted the Czech Army and Ministry of Foreign Affairs top brass officers. It is said that the operation was carried out to attain confidential material which could be of use to the Russian Government.
Turla’s activities in data manipulation, server breakthroughs, and jamming date back to the days of the Cold War while the APT28 lays its allegiance to the Russian Military Intelligence. The FSB, a Russian Intelligence Service, built up from the remains of the post-KGB directorate, have also been put into the allegation.
The initial attacks were initiated at ease as the accounts of the high profile victims were quite vulnerable. But, brute force was used once assaults were made on multiple accounts. The entire operation included injecting SQL Databases with bugged codes too. They did this in an extended period to avoid suspicion of any sort. Data extracted from some high profile accounts were used in turn, to break into other accounts.
The Czech Republic has decided to report the entire matter to the United Nations and appeal for a probe. The state intelligence and cybersecurity have been strengthened. The intentions behind these breakthroughs, however, remain unclear and also put into question the integrity of the Russian Service.