CISA and FBI Release Joint Advisories on Russian and Iranian APT Actors

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have released two joint cybersecurity advisories on widespread advanced persistent threat (APT) activity. The first, on Russian APT actors, is an update to a previous CISA-FBI advisory (AA20-283A APT Actors Chaining Vulnerabilities against SLTT, Critical Infrastructure, and Elections Organizations, published on October 9, 2020) and provides information on targeting of U.S. state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) government networks. The second details Iranian APT actors working to influence and interfere with the U.S. elections to sow discord among voters and undermine public confidence in the U.S. electoral process. These actors have taken part in spear-phishing campaigns, website defacements, and disinformation campaigns to spread obtained U.S. voter-registration data, anti-American propaganda, and misinformation about voter suppression, voter fraud, and ballot fraud. Both joint cybersecurity advisories contain information on exploited vulnerabilities and recommended mitigation actions for affected organizations to pursue. Read the following advisories at CISA:

Joint Cybersecurity Advisory: AA20-296A Russian State-Sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat Actor Compromises U.S. Government Targets

Joint Cybersecurity Advisory: AA20-296B Iranian State-Sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat Actors Threaten Election-Related Systems