Russian hackers target at least seven European governments - Politico

"At least seven European governments have been targeted with spearphishing campaigns, which include using custom-tailored lures to target specific, high-profile targets to download malicious software or give away access to digital systems," the report states.

The EU's Cyber Emergency Response Team assesses the threat from the Fancy Bear hacker group as high.

Fancy Bear, also known as APT28

It is a Russian intelligence-affiliated hacking group that the United States said was behind the 2016 hacks of the Democratic National Committee which contributed to Donald Trump's election win.

In 2020, the EU imposed sanctions against these hackers for the 2015 breach of the German Bundestag.

Hackers use various fake documents to lure victims, including subcommittee meeting protocols of the European Parliament and a report from the UN Special Committee.

Hackers may target the EU elections next year

Politico reports growing concerns that European elections next year will be targeted by hacking groups from Russia and China. EU voters will head to the polls in June.

Russian state-affiliated hacking groups have hunted European countries for many years through cyberattacks, cyber espionage, and disinformation campaigns, which the EU considers as attempts to undermine its internal politics and diplomatic positions.

Russian cyberattacks on Ukraine

Earlier, Russian hackers were attempting to compromise the phones of Ukrainians through the Signal messenger.

Recently, it was revealed that Russian hackers conducted a cyberattack on Ukraine's energy system last year, co-occurring with a large-scale shelling of the energy infrastructure by Russian forces.

The Security Service of Ukraine also reported that Ukrainian cyber experts thwarted Russian special services' attempts to access the electronic planning system of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.