Polish government institutions have become the latest targets of a large-scale malware campaign orchestrated by the Russia-linked nation-state actor APT28. The attack, which began in early May 2024, involves phishing emails designed to captivate recipients and lure them into clicking on malicious links. These links redirect victims to the domain run.mocky[.]io and subsequently to webhook[.]site, a legitimate service often exploited by APT28 to evade detection. The next stage involves downloading a ZIP archive from webhook[.]site, containing a disguised Windows Calculator binary, a hidden batch script, and a hidden DLL file.
When executed, the malicious DLL file is side-loaded, and a batch script is run, while a decoy image of a woman in a swimsuit with links to her social media accounts is displayed to maintain the ruse. The batch script then downloads a JPG image, renames it to a CMD script, and executes it to retrieve the final payload, which gathers information about the compromised host and sends it back to the attackers. CERT Polska has noted similarities between this campaign and a previous one involving the HeadLace backdoor.
The abuse of services like Mocky and webhook[.]site is a tactic frequently used by APT28 to bypass security software. CERT Polska recommends organizations block these domains if they are not in use and filter emails containing links to these sites, as legitimate use in email content is rare. This campaign follows recent accusations by NATO countries against APT28 for long-term cyber espionage targeting political entities, state institutions, and critical infrastructure, highlighting the ongoing and evolving threat posed by this group.
