Security · High impactFan score 67 · Tier A7 sources
Russia-Linked APT Turla Turned Exchange Servers Into Their Own Control Room
Security Affairs · By Pierluigi Paganini ·
The Brief · written from 7 sources
- Russia-aligned Turla (aka Snake) is using a previously undocumented modular .NET toolset called Cereal, according to ESET researchers.
- The malware was planted on Microsoft Exchange servers at two government organizations, one in Kazakhstan and one in Romania.
- Cereal copies selected email directly from the mail flow, and sources say Turla has used the toolset against governments over the past year.
Why it matters
Exchange servers at government bodies are being used to silently copy email, including correspondence with NATO and EU officials, so administrators running on-premises Exchange should treat mail-flow monitoring as a priority.
Who’s affected
- Organizations running Microsoft Exchange servers
- Government agencies in Kazakhstan and Romania
- Teams responsible for NATO and EU correspondence security
- #turla
- #cereal-malware
- #microsoft-exchange
- #espionage
- #email-interception
ESET found Russia-Linked APT group Turla using a new toolset, dubbed Cereal, on government Exchange servers in Kazakhstan and Romania. ESET Research detailed a previously undocumented toolset it calls Cereal, built to run on Microsoft Exchange servers. The researchers found it on…
Timeline
Full coverage · 7 sources
- 1h ago ↗
Security Affairs
Russia-Linked APT Turla Turned Exchange Servers Into Their Own Control Room
- 9h ago ↗
- 9h ago ↗
The Record from Recorded Future News
Russian hackers compromised government email servers to steal NATO, EU correspondence - 12h ago ↗
The Hacker News
Russian Turla Hackers Use New Cereal Malware to Steal Emails From Government Exchange Servers - 12h ago ↗
- 12h ago ↗
Help Net Security
Turla’s Cereal malware turns victims’ Exchange servers into spy hubs - 12h ago ↗
CyberScoop
Russian Turla group used new toolset to silently pilfer emails from Kazakhstan, Romanian governments