(Updated: Dec 2, 2018)
Last Thursday, Oct 4, the Dutch Ministry of Defence held a press conference close how its Military Intelligence together with Security Service MIVD had disrupted a spying functioning past times the Russian armed services intelligence way GRU in conclusion April.
Four Russian operatives were caught red-handed when they tried to hack into the Wi-Fi network of the headquarters of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) inwards The Hague. Meanwhile, the the States Department of Justice (DoJ) published a formal indictment against vii GRU officers, including the iv from the Netherlands.
Here, the failed GRU functioning volition last compared to unopen access operations of the NSA, which learns us to a greater extent than close the methods for hacking wireless networks. There are likewise some answers to frequent questions close the disruption past times the MIVD.
Press conference alongside from left to right: MIVD manager Onno Eichelsheim, Defence
government minister Ank Bijleveld, British ambassador Peter Wilson
(photo: Bart Maat/ANP - click to enlarge)
MIVD presentation
During the press conference, the manager of MIVD, major full general Onno Eichelsheim, explained the instance using a published inwards August 2016 past times the website The Intercept.
The NSA equivalent of the set-up constitute inwards the machine of the GRU officers seems to last a mobile antenna scheme running software codenamed BLINDDATE. This software tin likewise last attached to a drone to last positioned within the gain ofa wireless network of interest:
The NSA's BLINDDATE Wi-Fi hacking system, depicted inwards the acre inwards Afghanistan
(click to enlarge)
One of the components of BLINDDATE is a "man-in-the-middle" laid on method codenamed BADDECISION, which redirects the target's wireless spider web traffic to a FOXACID server of the NSA. Such a server is thence able to infect the target's figurer alongside diverse kinds of spying malware. This method fifty-fifty seems to piece of employment when the wireless connexion is WPA or WPA2 encrypted.
Slide from an 2010 NSA presentation of the BADDECISION Wi-Fi hacking method
(click for the total presentation)
SCS units
Such unopen access operations for American intelligence are unremarkably conducted past times units of the Special Collection Service (SCS). They operate covertly from inside the States diplomatic facilites around the the world together with consist of specialized officers from both CIA (for getting physical or HUMINT access) together with NSA (for the SIGINT interception equipment).
Interestingly, the GRU squad had a similar composition alongside Aleksei Morenets together with Evgenii Serebriakov equally cyber operators together with Oleg Sotnikov together with Alexey Minin for HUMINT support.
The GRU squad arrives at Schiphol Airport on Apr 10, 2018. From left to right: Serebriakov
(cyber), Minin (HUMINT), Sotnikov (HUMINT), Morenets (cyber), Russian diplomatic mission official.
(source: MIVD presentation - click to enlarge)
Traveling team
According to the DoJ indictment, Serebriakov together with Morenets are both members of Unit 26165, likewise known equally the GRU 85 Main Special Service Center, traveling to unusual countries to bear on-site hacking operations. Evidence for that was provided past times Serebriakov's laptop, from which the MIVD recovered the before Wi-Fi connections.
It appeared that they had likewise been inwards Rio de Janeiro, Brazil inwards August 2016 together with inwards Lausanne, Switzerland inwards September 2016, where they targeted the anti-doping agencies WADA together with USADA. In Dec 2017 the laptop connected to a Wi-Fi network inwards Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which related to the Flight MH17 investigation. After the OPCW inwards The Hague, their side past times side assignment should accept been the Spiez chemic laboratory inwards Switzerland.
Note that Serebriakov together with Morenets traveled to targets related to some of the most controversial issues of Russian politics, which indicates their importance for GRU operations.
Embassy facilities
The fact that the iv men were flown in, indicates that the GRU doesn't accept such a squad permanently stationed within the Russian diplomatic mission inwards The Hague - exactly similar there's likewise no SCS unit of measurement within the American embassy, according to a 2010 slide from the NSA.
The SCS units became notorious after it was revealed that ane of them had been assigned to published inwards August 2016 past times the website The Intercept.
The NSA equivalent of the set-up constitute inwards the machine of the GRU officers seems to last a mobile antenna scheme running software codenamed BLINDDATE. This software tin likewise last attached to a drone to last positioned within the gain ofa wireless network of interest:
The NSA's BLINDDATE Wi-Fi hacking system, depicted inwards the acre inwards Afghanistan
(click to enlarge)
One of the components of BLINDDATE is a "man-in-the-middle" laid on method codenamed BADDECISION, which redirects the target's wireless spider web traffic to a FOXACID server of the NSA. Such a server is thence able to infect the target's figurer alongside diverse kinds of spying malware. This method fifty-fifty seems to piece of employment when the wireless connexion is WPA or WPA2 encrypted.
eavesdrop on High German chancellor Angela Merkel together with after SCS "spying sheds" were discovered on the rooftops of a number of the States diplomatic mission buildings.
The Russian diplomatic mission inwards The Hague, which is non really far from both the prime number minister's residence equally good equally from the OPCW building, doesn't accept visible spying structures on its roof.
The Russian diplomatic mission inwards The Hague. About 1/3 of the diplomatic personnel can
last considered working for Russian intelligence agencies.
(photo: OmroepWest.nl - click to enlarge)
The Russian diplomatic mission inwards The Hague, which is non really far from both the prime number minister's residence equally good equally from the OPCW building, doesn't accept visible spying structures on its roof.
The Russian diplomatic mission inwards The Hague. About 1/3 of the diplomatic personnel can
last considered working for Russian intelligence agencies.
(photo: OmroepWest.nl - click to enlarge)
Update:
On Nov 30, 2018, the Dutch paper NRC came alongside a published inwards August 2016 past times the website The Intercept.
The NSA equivalent of the set-up constitute inwards the machine of the GRU officers seems to last a mobile antenna scheme running software codenamed BLINDDATE. This software tin likewise last attached to a drone to last positioned within the gain ofa wireless network of interest:
The NSA's BLINDDATE Wi-Fi hacking system, depicted inwards the acre inwards Afghanistan
(click to enlarge)
One of the components of BLINDDATE is a "man-in-the-middle" laid on method codenamed BADDECISION, which redirects the target's wireless spider web traffic to a FOXACID server of the NSA. Such a server is thence able to infect the target's figurer alongside diverse kinds of spying malware. This method fifty-fifty seems to piece of employment when the wireless connexion is WPA or WPA2 encrypted.
wondered for instance why the MIVD didn't monitor the Russian hacking endeavour for a curt menses of fourth dimension inwards social club to larn what sort of targets they were looking for - a mutual practise inwards cyber security.
During the press conference, MIVD manager Eichelsheim said that the Russian equipment did non render data close why the OPCW was targeted. We tin assume that acre operatives accept no "need to know" for the actual piece of employment of the operation, which may likewise last classified differently. Maybe it was likewise already known that this particular GRU method is exactly used to acquire a full general access to a network, instead of to particular users or files.
Another argue could last that the MIVD only wanted to forestall whatever sort of laid on on the network of an international organization similar the OPCW - Dutch undercover services tin last quite strict when it comes to their legal tasks. This mightiness accept been dissimilar when the target had been a Dutch authorities agency, inwards which instance it may last allowed to monitor a network intrusion for intelligence together with prevention purposes.
Expelled instead of arrested
Another frequent query is why the Dutch authorities didn't arrest the GRU officers given the fact that they were caught red-handed. Instead, the iv men had been at ane time "escorted to a bird to Moscow" - non fifty-fifty formally expelled equally some press reports suggest.
Here the most probable argue is that it's the park practise inwards espionage to expel spies, specially when they operate nether diplomatic cover. This non solely prevents that a courtroom instance would attract world attending to intelligence failures together with successes, but likewise that nosotros tin facial expression our ain intelligence officials to last sent domicile instead of thrown inwards jail.
New strategy
H5N1 terminal query is why the MIVD came alongside such a unusually detailed presentation close a recent operation, given how extremely secretive the Dutch intelligence services are. But internationally at that spot were precedents:
Last July, the the States Department of Justice issued an indictment inwards which 12 Russian intelligence officials (mostly from the GRU) were identified together with published inwards August 2016 past times the website The Intercept.
The NSA equivalent of the set-up constitute inwards the machine of the GRU officers seems to last a mobile antenna scheme running software codenamed BLINDDATE. This software tin likewise last attached to a drone to last positioned within the gain ofa wireless network of interest:
The NSA's BLINDDATE Wi-Fi hacking system, depicted inwards the acre inwards Afghanistan
(click to enlarge)
One of the components of BLINDDATE is a "man-in-the-middle" laid on method codenamed BADDECISION, which redirects the target's wireless spider web traffic to a FOXACID server of the NSA. Such a server is thence able to infect the target's figurer alongside diverse kinds of spying malware. This method fifty-fifty seems to piece of employment when the wireless connexion is WPA or WPA2 encrypted.
accused of hacking the Democratic National Committee (DNC) together with the Clinton presidential receive together with after releasing the stolen files using platforms similar DC Leaks, Wikileaks together with Guccifer 2.0.
In September, the British authorities likewise identified 2 GRU officers ("Alexander Petrov" together with "Ruslan Boshirov") equally the suspects inwards the instance of the poisoning of old GRU officeholder together with double agent Sergei Skripal inwards Salisbury inwards March 2018.
And exactly before the press conference inwards the Netherlands, the Great Britain National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) came alongside a statement inwards which the GRU was defendant of "indiscriminate together with reckless cyber attacks" including disrupting the Kyiv metro, Odessa airport, Russia’s cardinal banking concern together with 2 Russian media outlets, hacking a pocket-sized UK-based TV station together with cyber attacks on Ukrainian financial, liberate energy together with authorities sectors.
This makes clear that "naming together with shaming" Russian intelligence officials is a novel deterrance strategy of the Western allies inwards the hybrid cyber together with data state of war that Russian Federation inflamed a few years ago.
Links together with sources
- Clingendael.org: Hoe de Russen (waarschijnlijk) probeerden de OPCW te hacken
- Clingendael.org: Heads rolling at the GRU? Blundering Russian intelligence
- Spiegel.de: The Rise of Russia's GRU Military Intelligence Service
- Wired.com: How Russian Spies Infiltrated Hotel Wi-Fi to Hack Victims
- Emptywheel.net: A Tale of Two GRU Indictments
- RTLNieuws.nl: Waarom de MIVD de Russische spionnen niet liet vastzetten
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