{"id":14469,"date":"2024-02-22T18:42:55","date_gmt":"2024-02-22T18:42:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1404118"},"modified":"2024-02-22T18:42:55","modified_gmt":"2024-02-22T18:42:55","slug":"new-russian-psyops-mix-disinformation-spam-and-navalny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=14469","title":{"rendered":"New Russian PSYOPs mix disinformation, spam, and Navalny"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Researchers have discovered a Russia-aligned <\/span>PSYOPs campaign with a curious mix of espionage, disinformation, and Canadian pharmacy spam. It also has links to Alexi Navalany, the Kremlin critic who died last week in an Arctic penal colony.<\/span><\/p>\n

The PSYOPs \u2014 a military term for \u201cpsychological operations\u201d \u2014 were<\/span> unearthed by analysts at ESET, a cybersecurity<\/a> firm headquartered in Slovakia. They named the campaign \u201cOperation Texonto.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The operation disseminated war-related disinformation to Ukrainians via spam emails<\/a>. Through two waves of messages, the PSYOPs spread fears about <\/span>shortages of food, medicines, and heating supplies \u2014 typical themes of Russian propaganda. <\/span><\/p>\n

Alongside the disinformation, ESET detected a recent spear-phishing campaign that targeted a Ukrainian company and an EU agency. It aimed to steal credentials for Microsoft Office 365 accounts.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Due to similarities in their network infrastructure, ESET is confident that the PSYOPs and phishing are connected. <\/span><\/p>\n

Matthieu Faou, Senior Malware Researcher at ESET, said the company\u2019s customers had sparked the hunt for Operation Texonoto. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cESET has a significant user base in Ukraine and as such, our research team dedicates a lot of its time to track Russia-aligned groups,\u201d Faou told TNW via email. \u201cWe first uncovered a spear-phishing campaign and then pivoted on the artefacts, which led to the discovery of the two PSYOPs.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also led to that<\/span> connection with Navalny.<\/span><\/p>\n

Real dissidents and fake pharmacies<\/h2>\n

Operation Texonto used domain names related to Navalny. These included the following:<\/span><\/p>\n