The United Kingdom’s National Cybersecurity Center warned on Thursday that Iranian and Russian hackers are “relentlessly” targeting British journalists and politicians to obtain sensitive data about an increase in hacking attempts against certain individuals and institutions.
“These campaigns, led by people from Russia and Iran, continue to relentlessly pursue their goals of stealing online data and hacking into potentially sensitive systems,” said Paul Chichester of the Center.
The statement referred, in particular, to two groups: SIABORGIUM, based in Russia, and TE453 (TA453), stationed in Iran. Although the two campaigns are separate, “the two groups use similar methods and pursue similar goals.”
In a statement, the center pointed out that “the attacks do not target the general public, but specific sectors, especially academia, defense, government organizations, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, politicians, journalists and activists.”
He explained that the hackers “created fake social media profiles to present themselves as respected experts and also used supposed invitations to attend conferences or events.”
