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OSINT - Frozen in transit: Secret Blizzard’s AiTM campaign against diplomats

Medium
Published: Fri Aug 01 2025 (08/01/2025, 00:00:00 UTC)
Source: CIRCL OSINT Feed
Vendor/Project: type
Product: osint

Description

OSINT - Frozen in transit: Secret Blizzard’s AiTM campaign against diplomats

AI-Powered Analysis

AILast updated: 08/01/2025, 16:03:09 UTC

Technical Analysis

The threat described is an OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) campaign named "Frozen in transit: Secret Blizzard's AiTM campaign against diplomats," attributed to the Russian threat actor group Turla. AiTM stands for Adversary-in-the-Middle, a sophisticated attack technique where the attacker intercepts and manipulates communications between two parties without their knowledge. This campaign targets diplomats, indicating a focus on espionage and intelligence gathering. The campaign is characterized by network activity and payload delivery mechanisms, suggesting that the attackers use advanced methods to infiltrate diplomatic communications and possibly implant malicious payloads to maintain persistent access or exfiltrate sensitive information. The campaign is ongoing (lifetime="perpetual") and has a medium certainty level (50%), meaning that while there is credible intelligence about its existence and modus operandi, some details remain unconfirmed. No specific affected software versions or patches are available, indicating that this is not a vulnerability in a software product but rather a targeted cyber espionage campaign. The campaign is linked to Microsoft as a producer tag, likely because Microsoft technologies or platforms are involved or targeted. The absence of known exploits in the wild and patches suggests that this is a threat actor-driven campaign rather than a widespread vulnerability exploitation. The campaign's technical details are limited, but the focus on diplomats and the use of AiTM techniques highlight the high sophistication and targeted nature of the threat.

Potential Impact

For European organizations, especially diplomatic missions, government agencies, and international organizations, this campaign poses a significant risk to confidentiality and integrity of sensitive communications. Successful AiTM attacks can lead to interception of classified diplomatic communications, manipulation of messages, and unauthorized access to sensitive data, potentially compromising national security and diplomatic relations. The medium severity indicates that while the campaign is not currently widespread, the targeted nature means that affected entities could suffer severe consequences, including espionage, data theft, and reputational damage. The lack of patches and the sophisticated nature of the attack make detection and mitigation challenging, increasing the potential impact on European diplomatic entities and related organizations.

Mitigation Recommendations

European organizations should implement advanced network monitoring to detect unusual traffic patterns indicative of AiTM attacks, including anomalies in TLS/SSL certificates and unexpected proxying of communications. Employing multi-factor authentication (MFA) with hardware tokens can reduce the risk of credential interception and misuse. Diplomatic entities should use end-to-end encrypted communication platforms that are resistant to interception and manipulation. Regular security awareness training focused on spear-phishing and social engineering tactics used by Turla can help reduce initial compromise. Network segmentation and strict access controls should be enforced to limit lateral movement if an intrusion occurs. Additionally, organizations should collaborate with national cybersecurity centers and intelligence agencies to share threat intelligence and receive timely alerts about emerging tactics used by Turla. Given the lack of patches, proactive threat hunting and incident response readiness are critical to identify and mitigate intrusions early.

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Technical Details

Uuid
0e955ede-dd8d-404e-acb4-41f47f79c820
Original Timestamp
1754035577

Indicators of Compromise

Domain

ValueDescriptionCopy
domainkav-certificates.info
Actor-controlled domain that downloads the malware

Ip

ValueDescriptionCopy
ip45.61.149.109
kav-certificates.info: Enriched via the dns module

Hash

ValueDescriptionCopy
hash13fafb1ae2d5de024e68f2e2fc820bc79ef0690c40dbfd70246bcc394c52ea20
ApolloShadow malware
hash1bc5621a4818f2124ac085da21f607ca
hash60f2c0932b114e99eb81e1ace478b5f5d0fa4d27
hash13fafb1ae2d5de024e68f2e2fc820bc79ef0690c40dbfd70246bcc394c52ea20
hash9587f236e40b9581bd7084f68c83b14b
hash3b165b249f0f93aa64de57543adbbe84da190e95
hashdd72350864b15b6c9f7aba96b684fb64221f739c11315077b30077f3e70066e3
hash6e1e998d04e6cc4d269778c76212de86bffb96ec5256fc072dc3137d87695767744b6f32f6a88f17a7336996db0db88704ef56c5da9f66751a7fc4eb6088ccc4
hashb1adac9933b929c845b4471cf7c2ab27
hash2a117c1346a4e881498670b01a782b172df64d2d
hashaf5a9ec8881f3c17e909bba8083309a6f960b786d81770dd5ef52bbb1f19ffbd
hash5ff34ecfc1fb42401f37b765a3fee10c758aad316b49c6a358e254e2ce6a784610ddb1b7b76c76d07277a84f53f0659ae16d70f86548625c14b984f462d5e452
hashca44b063f1235f3451f044bd6f091112
hashedb2f2e868ade96f788710cd51a6b43ccbb68743
hash0431e7e6741272791142debbd3a9971a72d2f8d9705dcad9c9af73365aa44929
hashde0031619cb4d95227daa550b9d1f56c3628b4e2286e36e0e01a9594936e4638940abae6d5574c5c7880f8a1563a7856b9ac3d6440cfe4e525b10c82ea144c73
hashf09fea2159d2cd09f4e312d3d4fc15f3
hashc344c8141a2795e848aa439772d45c68fb1ba477
hashe6be7b3fa94419af6744391b2bae63169a408e09353f35d8b1fe00fff05e8bec
hashaec86b1de75fd103957dd8ab1038986c624a36d0536e34beb8e7e69fafab67f0d3f4b93013808cdba6601e8da3beb82a362c083892c57b67dc98639f737e173b
hash26584de413aa0d9faf6f99e155ca4377
hash442dc0ce232caa323084aa827cd0dcff64037bf3
hashc6cd32408bcaeee92ddf99653ae5f2ec380b7a7e90e8b1ccebb6a9ec72807cdd
hash812000defd1f1c1d1da2da158bbb0735b9b65e2ad4671110e4bb04fa97c6aa659d73a1560806418f5dd84a0d271ddb92b35a9040497982072241826cf8f99378
hash27aacebda1952009c41b6fbb989f999d
hash1f2c5f58cf8e8017181bac151832a64f71640ef0
hash0a40e81744d3133766dd74a52c66106ee8afeaa8ce3ad8c8644eea2cd3d52d1c
hashe8c199be0c64c5df3c5cfcbb9eaf6d59c3899db4c400b89dca47dcbce18a45f8e89203d09725353d96dc2410934ea57a69086959c2a419318be37004c4caeecb
hash847b0fc839110d9617b6e957695c0821
hash4c1f1b9b0cd8027ca44b8740684507a7ea0618ba
hash7dbf5dcea0b582bead47e024e5a1b0506265a1c07c70b6a053e89b1e60156e8d
hash3f00d7f6c5d5683e4885be0ba43d845966da6ce58c80f91f16cd19d9be35bfe26ac7e4db6bd6ca81cbf543302ec8534df1ce522841907b88b94db968e85c9308
hash1bc5621a4818f2124ac085da21f607ca
hash60f2c0932b114e99eb81e1ace478b5f5d0fa4d27
hash13fafb1ae2d5de024e68f2e2fc820bc79ef0690c40dbfd70246bcc394c52ea20
hash0ce6ff2aea3c2381b17a26840d2ccb8e7621773b167aebe530a06b936243f786ee3640c3cb9a56a297388b691ccbe0611d85c5167ff9ad2e74a4a19a15869361

Link

ValueDescriptionCopy
linkhttps://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2025/07/31/frozen-in-transit-secret-blizzards-aitm-campaign-against-diplomats/

Text

ValueDescriptionCopy
textMicrosoft Threat Intelligence has uncovered a cyberespionage campaign by the Russian state actor we track as Secret Blizzard that has been targeting embassies located in Moscow using an adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) position to deploy their custom ApolloShadow malware. ApolloShadow has the capability to install a trusted root certificate to trick devices into trusting malicious actor-controlled sites, enabling Secret Blizzard to maintain persistence on diplomatic devices, likely for intelligence collection. This campaign, which has been ongoing since at least 2024, poses a high risk to foreign embassies, diplomatic entities, and other sensitive organizations operating in Moscow, particularly to those entities who rely on local internet providers.
textBlog
textUnited States
textUS
textdb_source: GeoOpen-Country. build_db: 2025-03-12 07:11:56. Latitude and longitude are country average.
textUnited States
textUS
textdb_source: GeoOpen-Country-ASN. build_db: 2025-03-12 07:19:04. Latitude and longitude are country average.
text14956
textASNOrganization: ROUTERHOSTING. db_source: GeoOpen-Country-ASN. build_db: 2025-03-12 07:19:04.
textSentinel Advanced Security Information Model
text// file hash list - imFileEvent let ioc_sha_hashes =dynamic(["13fafb1ae2d5de024e68f2e2fc820bc79ef0690c40dbfd70246bcc394c52ea20"]); imFileEvent | where SrcFileSHA256 in (ioc_sha_hashes) or TargetFileSHA256 in (ioc_sha_hashes) | extend AccountName = tostring(split(User, @'')[1]), AccountNTDomain = tostring(split(User, @'')[0]) | extend AlgorithmType = "SHA256"
textSentinel Advanced Security Information Model
text//IP list - _Im_WebSession let lookback = 30d; let ioc_ip_addr = dynamic(["45.61.149.109"]); let ioc_sha_hashes =dynamic(["13fafb1ae2d5de024e68f2e2fc820bc79ef0690c40dbfd70246bcc394c52ea20"]); _Im_WebSession(starttime=todatetime(ago(lookback)), endtime=now()) | where DstIpAddr in (ioc_ip_addr) or FileSHA256 in (ioc_sha_hashes) | summarize imWS_mintime=min(TimeGenerated), imWS_maxtime=max(TimeGenerated), EventCount=count() by SrcIpAddr, DstIpAddr, Url, Dvc, EventProduct, EventVendor // Domain list - _Im_WebSession let ioc_domains = dynamic(["kav-certificates.info"]); _Im_WebSession (url_has_any = ioc_domains)
textSentinel Advanced Security Information Model
text//IP list and domain list- _Im_NetworkSession let lookback = 30d; let ioc_ip_addr = dynamic(["45.61.149.109"]); let ioc_domains = dynamic(["kav-certificates.info"]); _Im_NetworkSession(starttime=todatetime(ago(lookback)), endtime=now()) | where DstIpAddr in (ioc_ip_addr) or DstDomain has_any (ioc_domains) | summarize imNWS_mintime=min(TimeGenerated), imNWS_maxtime=max(TimeGenerated), EventCount=count() by SrcIpAddr, DstIpAddr, DstDomain, Dvc, EventProduct, EventVendor
textMicrosoft Defender XDR
textlet CaptiveRedirectEvents = DeviceNetworkEvents | where RemoteUrl contains "msftconnecttest.com/redirect" | project DeviceId, RedirectTimestamp = Timestamp, RemoteUrl; let FileDownloadEvents = DeviceFileEvents | where ActionType == "FileDownloaded" | project DeviceId, DownloadTimestamp = Timestamp, FileName, FolderPath; CaptiveRedirectEvents | join kind=inner (FileDownloadEvents) on DeviceId | where DownloadTimestamp between (RedirectTimestamp .. (RedirectTimestamp + 2m)) | project DeviceId, RedirectTimestamp, RemoteUrl, DownloadTimestamp, FileName, FolderPath
text.text
text.rdata
text.data
text.pdata
text_RDATA
text.rsrc
text.reloc
textexe
text5368754252

Float

ValueDescriptionCopy
float38
float-97
float38
float-97
float6.4687295604183
float4.9337559296997
float3.068662876151
float5.2142325249842
float2.8235356273006
float6.591825724894
float5.4193323730566
float6.1025152826652

Tlsh

ValueDescriptionCopy
tlsht1d5344a0973d50cf9e837813988525a46ea72b8150771dfaf13a0426adf776e0ed3af21

Vhash

ValueDescriptionCopy
vhash025076655d15551565508016z521z7jzc1z5bz

Ssdeep

ValueDescriptionCopy
ssdeep3072:7UAhJPJwCZQw5eA8H/Y+rjTMRGX/C32kjWb/nE3LcgZQz35S0pzoY46CQ1gqLMGx:IA5RRqUjWrnEPQzbohq1LM8
ssdeep3072:AUAhJPJwCZQw5eA8H/Y+rjTMRGX/C32kjWb/nE3LcgZQzx:jA5RRqUjWrnEPQzx
ssdeep1536:rFss84dh1qE4oajTdobHoWJ4K9dlUzisWtd1ip1DqL/HstcbM:55S0pzoY46CQ1gqLMGbM
ssdeep48:z+EEEEEEJLjTkPkBTkQnuDQafFdpcHIG4:z+EEEEEEZaklnulfFdprG4
ssdeep96:9zLLE98v0oONctjLbw0R/zrUHu1Wnau58EjKcBgDJDsYHQgJIcYOxUVl9IUKp/qR:p3E9iONQhpIHu1Lu/KpdJXYOCl9e4
ssdeep3:klJVllEflrldyLzObZllJFhr5et2/6lzxbXZh1lPXlPNFPn:kjV/ZGctmOL
ssdeep24:edOWNRb9SeI1hCc1CE9yr37uVHdt4VBgD4IINfr/biNK+bIgMy5xvW0WiCgu8:edOU9I1NNyO9SngsIE6K+bIgMy/548
ssdeep96:8TxP8vvElvvNiPEvv2nJOnnsnDPEvvIkvP8vviUPEvv7HcGx:CxsElqEX2JusrEXIssKcEX7HcGx
ssdeep3072:7UAhJPJwCZQw5eA8H/Y+rjTMRGX/C32kjWb/nE3LcgZQz35S0pzoY46CQ1gqLMGx:IA5RRqUjWrnEPQzbohq1LM8

Size in-bytes

ValueDescriptionCopy
size-in-bytes128000
size-in-bytes90624
size-in-bytes4608
size-in-bytes7168
size-in-bytes512
size-in-bytes2048
size-in-bytes3584
size-in-bytes237568

Datetime

ValueDescriptionCopy
datetime2024-02-08T06:16:20+00:00

Imphash

ValueDescriptionCopy
imphash8b85b6f1045e6f05aad33e1fed74b176

Authentihash

ValueDescriptionCopy
authentihash37cf8e0d1d57931ec4fcb56e6116ccc225fbd44fc383732e76609554d0ae46b4

Counter

ValueDescriptionCopy
counter7

File

ValueDescriptionCopy
file13fafb1ae2d5de024e68f2e2fc820bc79ef0690c40dbfd70246bcc394c52ea20

Malware sample

ValueDescriptionCopy
malware-sample13fafb1ae2d5de024e68f2e2fc820bc79ef0690c40dbfd70246bcc394c52ea20|1bc5621a4818f2124ac085da21f607ca

Mime type

ValueDescriptionCopy
mime-typeapplication/vnd.microsoft.portable-executable

Threat ID: 688ce196ad5a09ad00ca121e

Added to database: 8/1/2025, 3:47:34 PM

Last enriched: 8/1/2025, 4:03:09 PM

Last updated: 8/2/2025, 1:56:41 AM

Views: 7

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