Leaked 'Vulkan Files' reveal Russia's cyberwarfare operations

[midian182]

What just happened? A whistleblower has leaked files from a Moscow-based defense contractor that allegedly show how the company works with Russian military and intelligence agencies to support them in hacking operations, training operatives, spreading disinformation, and scanning the internet for vulnerabilities.

An anonymous whistleblower angry over the Ukraine war provided the documents on Moscow IT consulting agency NTC Vulkan. Journalists from several publications, including The Guardian, have been working with the source and just published tell-all articles, referred to as The Vulkan Files.

The files' authenticity has been confirmed by five Western intelligence agencies and several independent cybersecurity companies. They link a Vulkan cyber-attack tool with hacking group Sandworm, which the US government said twice caused blackouts in Ukraine and disrupted the Olympics in South Korea. It is also thought to be behind the launch of NotPetya.

The tool, codenamed Scan-V, scans the internet for vulnerabilities, storing what it discovers for later analysis and for use in cyberattacks. Another, called Amezit, is described as a framework for controlling the online information environment and manipulating public opinion through methods such as creating fake social media profiles. It is also used to "enhance psychological operations, and store and organize data for upstream communication of efforts."

Scan-V

Another system, Crystal-2V, is a training program for operatives that explains the methods required to coordinate attacks on rail, air, and sea infrastructure.

The source approached the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung days after the Ukraine invasion last year. They said the GRU, the intelligence division of Russia's armed forces, and the FSB, the country's federal security service, "hide behind" Vulkan.

"People should know the dangers of this," the whistleblower said. "Because of the events in Ukraine, I decided to make this information public. The company is doing bad things and the Russian government is cowardly and wrong. I am angry about the invasion of Ukraine and the terrible things that are happening there. I hope you can use this information to show what is happening behind closed doors."

The cache of more than 5,000 pages of documents, dated between 2016 and 2021, also contains emails, internal documents, project plans, budgets, and contracts. Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine's computer network, but there is no definite evidence of Vulkan-created tools being used in real-world attacks.

One of the most concerning parts of the leak is what appears to be illustrations showing potential targets. One is a map containing circles across the US that appear to represent clusters of internet servers; another shows details of a nuclear power plant in Switzerland. There's also a document showing engineers recommending Russia add to its own capabilities by using hacking tools stolen in 2016 from the US National Security Agency and posted online.

The documents do not include verified targets, malicious software code, or evidence linking the company to known cyberattacks.

NTC Vulkan and Kremlin officials have refused requests for comment.

Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin and China leader Xi Jinping announced they intend to make their respective countries world leaders in IT, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. They released a document outlining their ambitions, which included a section stating, "Both sides support the United Nations Ad Hoc Committee to develop a comprehensive international convention against the use of information and communication technologies for criminal purposes."

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/98148-leaked-vulkan-files-reveal-russia-cyberwarfare-operations.html

 

[Uncle Al]

It further validates the need to cut Russia completely off the internet and do the same with any country, IP, or other host that participates. While this will vastly reduce the size of the internet, it will make is safer for the end users.

 

[Underdog]

And in getting the disastrous Brexit referendum pushed through. Russia's military appears somewhat inept but things like their cyberwarfare needs to be taken seriously.

 

[kinetix]

"a whistleblower".... ...yeah... ... sure...

 

[kinetix]

The rest of the planet must cut off from google, facebook, microsoft, amazon, etc, etc etc...

each one must create their own subnets, with regional control or by each country. with as much of their own technology as each one can, or at least with regional technology or that of their trusted allies and partners. and the ability, when faced with a threat, to completely cut off and continue working.

It seems that around here we forget Snowden and others before him.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Lol. Lmao even.

Whenever the opposing party wins, it's interference. When my side wins, it's the "most secure election ever".

Everyone afraid of the Russian Manlet.

 

[Gezzer]

And in getting the disastrous Brexit referendum pushed through. Russia's military appears somewhat inept but things like their cyberwarfare needs to be taken seriously.

And if we'd only had some sort of warning before Russia began all this...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundations_of_Geopolitics

 

[Gezzer]

It further validates the need to cut Russia completely off the internet and do the same with any country, IP, or other host that participates. While this will vastly reduce the size of the internet, it will make is safer for the end users.

And we would do that how? Beyond the fact that totalitarian regimes have been trying to do what you suggest to their own citizens for years and never quite succeeding, there's a bigger issue. A totalitarian governments' biggest tool is the control of information. Cut the Russian people out of the internet and you actually make Putin and any of his successors job's easier, not harder.

They can still hack us to their heart's content, just like those that oppose Russia will be able to do. Both sides will just have to find access points in locations still part of each countries system. But now we'll have no way to disseminate information to the Russians. How many Russian's do you think would be currently opposing Putin if he had complete control of the information Russian's receive? Would we even be made aware of the subject of this article if Russia was cut of from the rest of the internet?

Government cyber warfare is here to stay. And virtually any country technologically advanced enough is doing it. That genie has been long out of the bottle. Cutting Russia off isn't the answer. Using the internet to shine the harsh light of truth on Russia activities while exposing their atrocities to the Russian people using the same internet is about the only course of action we have. Oh, and learning to be critical thinkers, but I'm not holding my breath waiting on that one.

 

[Kirby1]

And we would do that how? Beyond the fact that totalitarian regimes have been trying to do what you suggest to their own citizens for years and never quite succeeding, there's a bigger issue. A totalitarian governments' biggest tool is the control of information. Cut the Russian people out of the internet and you actually make Putin and any of his successors job's easier, not harder.

They can still hack us to their heart's content, just like those that oppose Russia will be able to do. Both sides will just have to find access points in locations still part of each countries system. But now we'll have no way to disseminate information to the Russians. How many Russian's do you think would be currently opposing Putin if he had complete control of the information Russian's receive? Would we even be made aware of the subject of this article if Russia was cut of from the rest of the internet?

Government cyber warfare is here to stay. And virtually any country technologically advanced enough is doing it. That genie has been long out of the bottle. Cutting Russia off isn't the answer. Using the internet to shine the harsh light of truth on Russia activities while exposing their atrocities to the Russian people using the same internet is about the only course of action we have. Oh, and learning to be critical thinkers, but I'm not holding my breath waiting on that one.

I agree with you that it's probably impractical, but if we could cut Russia off at least their disinformation efforts would be self-contained and we wouldn't have ended up with Brexit and Trump.

 

[Gezzer]

I agree with you that it's probably impractical, but if we could cut Russia off at least their disinformation efforts would be self-contained and we wouldn't have ended up with Brexit and Trump.

Sure, but instead we end up with a repeat of Nazi Germany?

IMHO the big issue is that Russia is nothing like say North Korea, where there's total control over any information people see, but they don't have the resources to be a major threat. At least not yet. Russia, OTOH while being exposed as a paper tiger by their performance in the Ukraine still has a lot of resources, even with all the sanctions.
Think about how dangerous the country would be with citizens more like Nazi Germany or North Korea due to information control and unchallenged propaganda. Putin's biggest achilles heel is his treatment of his citizens to date. We can only hope that with external prompting they'll get tired of his BS and deal with him.
As for the results of Russia's cyber warfare actions to date? Like I said, while better vetting of information might help, in the end we need to become better critical thinkers so we don't get sucked in. And yeah, I know... We're fighting an uphill battle in that regard.

 

[yannus]

Lol, have you ever tried to search a (very) controversial topic on google, duckduckgo or whatever search engine ? I mean, I'm not pro Russia as I clearly understand that ALL governments work together against the people but we don't have a free internet in the west. Yandex or Telegram are sadly the last "not that censored" places on the internet. And I still see people playing the sanction strategy after all the west has been and is still going through. The enemy is as much in Russia as in Ukraine or in Europe, China or America. Instead of wanting to censor Russia, you'd better save your country from the bad guys within (follow the money).

 

[Ben Myers]

And in getting the disastrous Brexit referendum pushed through. Russia's military appears somewhat inept but things like their cyberwarfare needs to be taken seriously.

Inept? But they pushed Brexit through.

 

[Tantor]

Putin's biggest achilles heel is his treatment of his citizens to date. We can only hope that with external prompting they'll get tired of his BS and deal with him.

It'll never happen. Putin is extremely popular.

 

[Gezzer]

It'll never happen. Putin is extremely popular.

Ever hear the term "famous last words"? The big problem with a leader that has a iron grip on the narrative is that it's really hard to tell how sincere any of his subjects are. You could be right about Putin's popularity, or it could be people trying to prevent themselves from going to jail because they weren't earnest enough with their hero worship. Big problem is there's no way to tell until after they're no longer held in that iron grip. Only time will tell...

 

[Tantor]

Ever hear the term "famous last words"? The big problem with a leader that has a iron grip on the narrative is that it's really hard to tell how sincere any of his subjects are. You could be right about Putin's popularity, or it could be people trying to prevent themselves from going to jail because they weren't earnest enough with their hero worship. Big problem is there's no way to tell until after they're no longer held in that iron grip. Only time will tell...

Well... you assume that Putin mistreats Russians. But most indicators show that the quality of life during Putin's presidency has gone up dramatically.

Also, Westerners tend to believe that Western values are self evidently superior. But that's not the way other cultures see it.

Here's the dynamic:

Russia is a very old nation, over 1000 years old. They went through 70 years of cultural destruction under the Bolsheviks and have a great hunger to rediscover their roots. Meanwhile, the West is destroying its own roots. Tearing down statues, Christianity, traditional sexual orientation, and flooding their nations with 3rd world immigrants. Russians see this and are appalled.

About a month ago Putin held a military conference. The room was full of uniformed generals and admirals. In the middle of the room, wearing full Religious Garb, was Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. He's effectively part of the Russian Military. It's become a Holy War. And Zelensky recently ordered the arrest of the Russian Orthodox Church leaders in Ukraine. For Russians, this puts Zelensky firmly into the 'satanic' category.

I don't know how it's going to play out, but Russia is a tough nut to crack.

 

[Gezzer]

Well... you assume that Putin mistreats Russians. But most indicators show that the quality of life during Putin's presidency has gone up dramatically.

Also, Westerners tend to believe that Western values are self evidently superior. But that's not the way other cultures see it.

Here's the dynamic:

Russia is a very old nation, over 1000 years old. They went through 70 years of cultural destruction under the Bolsheviks and have a great hunger to rediscover their roots. Meanwhile, the West is destroying its own roots. Tearing down statues, Christianity, traditional sexual orientation, and flooding their nations with 3rd world immigrants. Russians see this and are appalled.

About a month ago Putin held a military conference. The room was full of uniformed generals and admirals. In the middle of the room, wearing full Religious Garb, was Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. He's effectively part of the Russian Military. It's become a Holy War. And Zelensky recently ordered the arrest of the Russian Orthodox Church leaders in Ukraine. For Russians, this puts Zelensky firmly into the 'satanic' category.

I don't know how it's going to play out, but Russia is a tough nut to crack.

I don't disagree with most of what you just said. but just like the Western countries your referring to, the "indicators" of quality of life are easy by the ones in power to manipulate. For example GDP has been used as an indicator for economic health for quite a while and the prevailing opinion was a high GDP meant a high quality of life. It's only in the last 10-15 years that that has changed as a wealth gap between haves and have nots has increased to dramatic proportions.

I also don't disagree that many conservative Russian' just like in the west are appalled by what they perceive to be a breakdown in society's morals and ability to function. This is nothing new and is a reflection of conservative values, not a nation's overall mind set. But my original post was only commenting on the current situation with Putin and the war in the Ukraine, and not the feelings of the Russian conservative power base.

One only has to look at another unpopular war and the fallout from it, to see where the current one is quite possibly heading. Ever hear of Richard Nixon and the Vietnam war? The parallels between the current invasion of the Ukraine and the Vietnam war are just too numerous to count. Even right down to the fact that neither called their war... well a war. Call it a "police action" or a "special military operation" all you want, an invasion is still a invasion if the citizens don't want to be liberated by the invaders. And that makes it a war...

Want some more parallels? The US envisioned an "early" victory that never happened. They underestimated their support both at home and in South Vietnam. The troops/militaries treatment of the Vietnamese was horrific and the term "war crimes" was a very common accusation. North Vietnam received military support from outside sympathetic sources that helped them resist the US. Militraily the north was better lead and more effective compared to the US, with fewer resources. The US instituted an unpopular draft to raise troop numbers during the "conflict". And so on and so on...

That's what I'm referring to. The fact that Putin promised the Russian citizens a lot and is pretty much failing to deliver any of it. At this point the best the Russian military can achieve is a pyrrhic victory. Deny it all you want but more importantly Russia, the country and the people, as a whole are suffering due to Putin's actions. Be they misguided or not, and as long as Putin continues down this course they'll continue to suffer. Eventually popular support, propped up by propaganda or not, will falter. And just like Nixon before him Putin will be brought low. At this point it isn't if, it's when and how...

 

[AlaskaGuy]

And in getting the disastrous Brexit referendum pushed through. Russia's military appears somewhat inept but things like their cyberwarfare needs to be taken seriously.

You're blaming Russia for Brexit? lolz

 

[AlaskaGuy]

I agree with you that it's probably impractical, but if we could cut Russia off at least their disinformation efforts would be self-contained and we wouldn't have ended up with Brexit and Trump.

Do tell how Russia helped get Trump elected. This should be good.

 

[Gezzer]

You're blaming Russia for Brexit? lolz

I'm including the Trump election in this reply, because IMHO it is part and parcel of the same issue. Was Russian cyberwarfare involved in either instance? It's suspected they were, but proving it and to what extent is virtually impossible. And that's the problem in a nutshell. It can't be denied that every country with the capability to engage in cyberwarfare is in fact doing just that. Every. Country. Capable.

But what actual actions any of them take? The details are obviously "Top Secret-Eyes Only" and tracing the events are a quagmire that even experienced experts have problems with. So you're plausibly justified in your skepticism. But you also have to admit that you might just be dismissing the idea a bit hastily. Especially when you consider Russia's established track record.

Cyberwarfare by Russia - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[AlaskaGuy]

I'm including the Trump election in this reply, because IMHO it is part and parcel of the same issue. Was Russian cyberwarfare involved in either instance? It's suspected they were, but proving it and to what extent is virtually impossible. And that's the problem in a nutshell. It can't be denied that every country with the capability to engage in cyberwarfare is in fact doing just that. Every. Country. Capable.

But what actual actions any of them take? The details are obviously "Top Secret-Eyes Only" and tracing the events are a quagmire that even experienced experts have problems with. So you're plausibly justified in your skepticism. But you also have to admit that you might just be dismissing the idea a bit hastily. Especially when you consider Russia's established track record.

Cyberwarfare by Russia - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Are you implying Russia hacked voter machines ... because I honestly don't know how else they could have influenced an election.

 

[Gezzer]

Are you implying Russia hacked voter machines ... because I honestly don't know how else they could have influenced an election.

Did you actually go to the link I provided and read the US entry?

And I quote:
"In 2016, the release of hacked emails belonging to the Democratic National Committee, John Podesta, and Colin Powell, among others, through DCLeaks and WikiLeaks was said by private sector analysts[75] and US intelligence services[76] to have been of Russian origin.[77][78] Also, in December 2016, Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Committee on Armed Services called for "a special select committee to investigate Russian attempts to influence the presidential election".[79][80]"

As Brexit showed properly applied and focused influence is just as effective as actual hardware hacks. As well, AFAIK Russia isn't looking for specific outcomes so much as they want to sow seeds of confusion and anarchy among the target countries. The actual real outcomes are secondary. Again this isn't a Russian specific strategy or isolated to cyberwarfare. It's pretty much SOP for all intelligence sectors, including the US.

 

[Underdog]

Inept? But they pushed Brexit through.

Brexit was not manipulated by Russia's military. It was social manipulation via media.

 

[AlaskaGuy]

Brexit was not manipulated by Russia's military. It was social manipulation via media.

Most of the media were anti Brexit starting with the BBC. I take it you didn't watch the Brexit debates. Those debates sealed Brexit's fate.

 

[Gezzer]

Brexit was not manipulated by Russia's military. It was social manipulation via media.

Of course not. But that's like saying the National Parks weren't administrated by the Department of Transportation. Is the FBI or CIA considered military? Because as far as I know they aren't and neither is the Russian equivalents. Now as for the question if the Russian's had a hand in the outcome of Brexit. I'd say quite likely, but proving it is another thing entirely.

 

[kinetix]

Of course not. But that's like saying the National Parks weren't administrated by the Department of Transportation. Is the FBI or CIA considered military? Because as far as I know they aren't and neither is the Russian equivalents. Now as for the question if the Russian's had a hand in the outcome of Brexit. I'd say quite likely, but proving it is another thing entirely.

In my opinion, all the interest was from the US, getting the UK out from the EU, they knew what could happen in a few years (they were working on it) and the possible economic consequences. This way it was easier for them to take some measures (sanctions) at that moment that would affect the UK less (lol, it happened a lot otherwise). and so far everything has pointed to the manipulations of Cambridge Analytic