Shadow War

1. NATO official reveals sabotage campaign

Speaking before the European Parliament, NATO's James Appathurai highlights Russia-linked sabotage threats including "derailment of trains, acts of arson, attacks on politicians' property, threats to plot to assassinate industry leaders like, publicly, the head of Rheinmetall but there were other plots as well." NATO aims to agree on a hybrid threat strategy by the end of June, stressing deterrence and proactive measures without waiting for lengthy investigations.

2. EU sanctions GRU-linked group

The EU sanctions three Russian citizens for cyberattacks on Estonia aimed at accessing classified data. Those sanctioned are believed to be part of Russia's General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) 161st Specialist Training Center (Unit 29155), and have been repeatedly linked to cyber and sabotage operations, against Western targets.

3. Response to latest Baltic cable incident

NATO responds to suspected sabotage of Baltic infrastructure, investigating Russia-linked cargo ships after multiple undersea data and power cables are damaged, the latest of which is a cable linking Sweden and Latvia. The Baltic Sentry mission increases surveillance in the region, amid calls for more patrols.

4. Cyber espionage campaign details

UAC-0063, a sophisticated cyber-espionage group, targets Central Asian and European government entities. The group exfiltrates sensitive data via malicious documents and malware like DownExPyer and PyPlunderPlug. The geopolitical shifts in Central Asia, diminishing Russian influence, and rising Chinese economic presence are fueling cyber-espionage. UAC-0063 remains active, exploiting weaponized Microsoft Word documents, leveraging the HATVIBE loader, and using tools like LOGPIE for data collection.

5. Information about disinformation

Russia is escalating a disinformation war in Europe amidst ongoing political turmoil and elections. As EU nations face internal divisions and energy crises, the Kremlin exploits these vulnerabilities using hybrid warfare tactics. Their goal is to weaken Western alliances, heighten distrust, and reduce support for Ukraine. With reduced content moderation by tech giants, Russia's influence in spreading disunity is poised to grow, potentially benefiting Putin's geopolitical ambitions in Eastern Europe.

Also...

Polish researchers find that young people are particularly vulnerable to disinformation.