How Fancy Bear Sabotaged Ukrainian ArtilleryLike Sir Francis Drake’s privateering raid on Cadiz, Spain, during the 2014 Crimea operation, Russia’s chief intelligence directorate (GRU) collaborated with Fancy Bear (APT28), a state-sponsored hacking outfit, to sabotage Ukrainian artillery.5
As part of the ruse, Fancy Bear used a remote- access command and control (C2) and Beacon malware as the attack vector to compromise Ukrainian artillery positions and destroy Ukrainian 122mm D-30 towed howitzer artillery.6 Fancy Bear also developed X-agent, a malware implant based on an existing artillery-targeting program called Попр-Д30.apk (Android Application Package [APK]), for the ruse.
As a subterfuge, Fancy Bear distributed the malware via social media and online military forums, and the Ukrainian armed forces unwittingly downloaded the malware. The malware carried a C2 Beacon, a malicious payload that could remotely communicate from an infected Android device being used in the field, relaying artillery locations, battery strength and movements. The malware pinpointed Russian attacks on the Ukrainian artillery, resulting in a loss of 20 percent of the Ukrainian D-30 howitzers.
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As part of the ruse, Fancy Bear used a remote- access command and control (C2) and Beacon malware as the attack vector to compromise Ukrainian artillery positions . . . .
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This is all absurd silliness. Counter-battery radar does all this without the benefit of handwaving talk of Beacon malware. The only challenge to counter battery radar is the movement of the artillery after the shells are fired (and btw, this would defeat this magical, non-existent malware, too).
There is so much insanity in the world of Ukraine/Russia blogs that one wonders how these people can eat a plate of food.