Hackers-for-hire target Ukrainian notaries to manipulate state registries

Summary: Ukraine’s CERT-UA has issued a warning regarding cyberattacks targeting notaries, attributed to a hacking group named UAC-0173. They have been distributing phishing emails to gain access to government registries, and previously breached state infrastructure. The group utilizes commercial malware, DarkCrystal, for various malicious activities including surveillance and data theft.

Affected: Ukraine’s state registries, Notaries and legal entities

Keypoints :

• UAC-0173 has been executing phishing campaigns since mid-January to target notaries.
• Hackers utilized DarkCrystal malware and utilized various techniques to bypass security controls.
• Another group, UAC-0212, has also been conducting attacks against industrial enterprises in Ukraine and foreign countries since July.