APT29

APT29, ‎also‏ ‎known ‎as ‎Midnight ‎Blizzard, ‎BlueBravo,‏ ‎or ‎Cozy‏ ‎Bear,‏ ‎has ‎been ‎identified‏ ‎using ‎a‏ ‎new ‎backdoor ‎variant ‎called‏ ‎WINELOADER‏ ‎to ‎target‏ ‎German ‎political‏ ‎parties. ‎This ‎campaign ‎marks ‎a‏ ‎significant‏ ‎shift ‎in‏ ‎the ‎group’s‏ ‎focus ‎from ‎its ‎traditional ‎targets—diplomatic‏ ‎missions—to‏ ‎political‏ ‎entities, ‎indicating‏ ‎a ‎broader‏ ‎operational ‎intent‏ ‎to‏ ‎gather ‎political‏ ‎intelligence.

Target ‎and ‎Timing:

📌The ‎campaign ‎specifically‏ ‎targeted ‎German‏ ‎political‏ ‎parties, ‎with ‎phishing‏ ‎emails ‎sent‏ ‎around ‎February ‎26, ‎2024.‏ ‎These‏ ‎emails ‎featured‏ ‎a ‎logo‏ ‎from ‎the ‎Christian ‎Democratic ‎Union‏ ‎(CDU)‏ ‎and ‎included‏ ‎malicious ‎links.

Technical‏ ‎Details:

📌WINELOADER ‎is ‎believed ‎to ‎be‏ ‎a‏ ‎variant‏ ‎of ‎the‏ ‎non-public ‎historic‏ ‎BURNTBATTER ‎and‏ ‎MUSKYBEAT‏ ‎code ‎families,‏ ‎which ‎have ‎been ‎uniquely ‎associated‏ ‎with ‎APT29‏ ‎by‏ ‎Mandiant.

📌The ‎malware ‎employs‏ ‎sophisticated ‎techniques‏ ‎such ‎as ‎DLL ‎side-loading,‏ ‎RC4‏ ‎encryption ‎for‏ ‎payload ‎decryption,‏ ‎and ‎evasion ‎tactics ‎like ‎process/DLL‏ ‎name‏ ‎checks ‎and‏ ‎Ntdll ‎usermode‏ ‎hook ‎bypass.

Initial ‎Access:

📌The ‎initial ‎access‏ ‎was‏ ‎achieved‏ ‎through ‎phishing‏ ‎attachments ‎leading‏ ‎to ‎a‏ ‎compromised‏ ‎website, ‎«waterforvoiceless[.]org,»‏ ‎which ‎hosted ‎the ‎ROOTSAW ‎dropper.‏ ‎This ‎dropper‏ ‎then‏ ‎facilitated ‎the ‎download‏ ‎and ‎execution‏ ‎of ‎the ‎WINELOADER ‎payload.

Operational‏ ‎Significance:

📌This‏ ‎shift ‎to‏ ‎targeting ‎political‏ ‎parties ‎reflects ‎growing ‎interest ‎in‏ ‎influencing‏ ‎or ‎understanding‏ ‎Western ‎political‏ ‎dynamics, ‎especially ‎in ‎the ‎context‏ ‎of‏ ‎ongoing‏ ‎geopolitical ‎tensions.

📌The‏ ‎targeting ‎of‏ ‎political ‎parties‏ ‎is‏ ‎seen ‎as‏ ‎a ‎strategic ‎move ‎to ‎gather‏ ‎actionable ‎intelligence‏ ‎that‏ ‎could ‎potentially ‎influence‏ ‎political ‎outcomes‏ ‎or ‎strategies ‎in ‎Europe‏ ‎and‏ ‎beyond.

Broader ‎Implications:

📌The‏ ‎campaign ‎against‏ ‎German ‎political ‎parties ‎is ‎not‏ ‎seen‏ ‎as ‎an‏ ‎isolated ‎incident‏ ‎but ‎rather ‎part ‎of ‎a‏ ‎broader‏ ‎strategy‏ ‎that ‎could‏ ‎target ‎other‏ ‎Western ‎political‏ ‎entities.