Canada, allies issue cyber threat alert after hacking plot linked to Russia’s FSB exposed

The U.K. and U.S. said a hacking group aligned with the Russian FSB has been targeting politicians and other groups and individuals with the goal of undermining democracy.

Canada and its Five Eyes allies have issued a joint cybersecurity threat advisory warning of Russian cyberattacks after the British government said it exposed a years-long hacking plot by a group  aligned with Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

The U.K. foreign office said Thursday that the hacking group, known as “Star Blizzard” and working on behalf of the FSB, targeted British politicians, journalists, universities and non-profit groups over a period of several years. The group sought to obtain information with the intent “to interfere in U.K. politics and democratic processes,” the office said in a statement.

In its own statement, the U.S. Treasury Department said the group has also “targeted U.S. critical government networks.”

In response, the U.K. and the U.S. imposed sanctions on two Russian members of the Star Blizzard group, one of whom is a Russian FSB intelligence officer. The U.K. also summoned the Russian ambassador over the issue.

“Russia’s attempts to interfere in U.K. politics are completely unacceptable and seek to threaten our democratic processes,” British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in a statement.

“Despite their repeated efforts, they have failed.”

The U.K. foreign office said that while some of Star Blizzard’s attacks have resulted in leaked documents, the overarching attempts to interfere in British politics and democracy “have not been successful.”

The joint advisory from Canada’s Canadian Centre for Cyber Security and the cybersecurity agencies of the U.S., U.K., Australia and New Zealand warned Star Blizzard is responsible for a series of “spear-phishing” attacks, which are targeted towards specific victims. Actors will impersonate otherwise trusted individuals in order to obtain information from a target.