Russian hackers attempted to hack pro-Ukrainian accounts on WhatsApp, - Microsoft

This happened at the end of last year, reports Microsoft.

“Star Blizzard’s targets are usually related to government and diplomacy (both former and current officials), defence policy, or researchers in international relations whose work involves Russia and assisting Ukraine,” the publication states.

The attackers sent phishing messages attempting to gain access to the WhatsApp messaging history and personal data. These messages, purportedly from an American official, offered recipients to join a WhatsApp group "to receive information on initiatives to assist Ukraine."

It is noted that previously Microsoft, along with authorized U.S. agencies, had already shut down about 180 sites related to Star Blizzard.

“However, they quickly switched to other domains and continued their activities, indicating a significant resilience of these adversaries to operational disruptions,” Microsoft emphasized.

The company did not specify whether the Russian hackers managed to obtain unauthorized access to accounts.