Russian Agents Have Been Hacking Major Email Program: NSA

The Exim exploit allows an attacker to gain access using specially crafted email and install programs, modify data and create new accounts — gaining a foothold on a compromised network.

Russian Agents Have Been Hacking Major Email Program: NSA

Photo Credit: Reuters

The Exim exploit allows an attacker to gain access using specially crafted email

Highlights
  • Exim email server is widely used
  • The exploit was identified 11 months ago, when a patch was issued
  • The NSA did not say who the Russian military hackers have targeted
Advertisement

The US National Security Agency says the same Russian military hacking group that interfered in the 2016 presidential election and unleashed a devastating malware attack the following year has been exploiting a major email server program since last August or earlier. The timing of the agency's advisory Thursday was unusual considering that the critical vulnerability in the Exim Mail Transfer Agent — which mostly runs on Unix-type operating systems — was identified 11 months ago, when a patch was issued.

Exim is so widely used — though far less known than such commercial alternatives as Microsoft's proprietary Exchange — that some companies and government agencies that run it may still not have patched the vulnerability, said Jake Williams, president of Rendition Infosec and a former US government hacker.

It took Williams about a minute of online probing on Thursday to find a potentially vulnerable government server in the UK.

He speculated that the NSA might have issued an advisory to publicise the IP addresses and a domain name used by the Russian military group, known as Sandworm, in its hacking campaign — in hopes of thwarting their use for other means.

The Exim exploit allows an attacker to gain access using specially crafted email and install programs, modify data and create new accounts — gaining a foothold on a compromised network.

The NSA did not say who the Russian military hackers have targeted. But senior US intelligence officials have warned in recent months that Kremlin agents are engaged in activities that could threaten the integrity of the November presidential election.

An NSA official reached by The Associated Press would only say that the agency is publicising the vulnerability because, despite an October warning by British officials, it “has continued to be exploited and needs to be patched.” The hope, in now publicising Sandworm's role, is to further motivate patching, said the official, who spoke on condition they not be further identified.

Sandworm agents, tied to Russia's GRU military intelligence arm, caused great damage to the 2016 US presidential election, stealing and exposing Democratic National Committee emails and breaking into voter registration databases.

They also have been blamed by the US and UK governments for the June 2017 NotPetya cyber attack, which targeted businesses that operate in Ukraine. It caused at least $10 billion (roughly Rs. 75,612 crores) in damage globally, most notably to the Danish shipping multinational Maersk.


Is Redmi Note 9 Pro Max the best affordable camera phone in India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: NSA, Hackers, Russian Hackers
OnePlus 6T, OnePlus 6 Start Receiving OxygenOS 10.3.4 With 'Work-Life Balance' Feature, May 2020 Security Patch
13 Reasons Why, Dark, and More: June 2020 TV Guide to Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, and Prime Video
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »