GINC-APT-1055 · State

UNK_AcademicFlare

Category
State · Attributed to a state or working for one.
Origin
Russia(high confidence)
Sources
3 sources carry it
Identifier
GINC-APT-1055 · unk-academicflare

What it is

UNK_AcademicFlare is a suspected Russia-aligned threat actor that conducts device code phishing campaigns by leveraging compromised email addresses from government and military organizations. The actor engages in rapport building through benign outreach, ultimately leading to a phishing attempt via a Cloudflare Worker URL that spoofs a OneDrive account. Targeted sectors include government, think tanks, higher education, and transportation in the U.S. and Europe, with a focus on Russia and Ukraine-themed content. Their tactics include using compromised accounts for initial contact and employing device code phishing techniques to extract credentials.

Attribution

Each attribution is a claim: who makes it, and to whom. Western and Eastern sources are kept apart, as they often disagree.

Tools

The tools and malware families the sources tie to it.

  • CloudDuke

Sources

  • Malpedia malpedia.caad.fkie.fraunhofer.de