A sophisticated new computer attack technique has been revealed by cybersecurity firm Volexity, highlighting an unprecedented intrusion method used by Russian hackers to compromise the Wi-Fi network of a US organization located in Washington DC.
Unlike traditional methods that require physical proximity to the target, the attackers managed to infiltrate an American Wi-Fi network without ever leaving Russian soil. This technical feat, called “ nearest neighbor attack », is based on a principle of cascading contamination of adjacent Wi-Fi networks.
The attack scheme is particularly ingenious: the hackers first compromised the network of a first company, then used a laptop connected simultaneously by Ethernet and Wi-Fi as a relay. This configuration allowed them to bounce towards the network of their final target, located in a neighboring building. Even more surprising, a second variant of the attack involved up to three different organizationscreating a real “ chain of daisies » d’intrusions successives.
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Volexity researcher Steven Adair identified the hacker group as Fancy Bear (APT28), a notorious unit of Russian military intelligence (GRU). This discovery is all the more significant as it marks a major evolution in espionage techniques since the embarrassing incident in 2018, where GRU agents were arrested in The Hague while trying to hack the Organization for the Ban on Chemical Weapons from their car.
To protect against this type of attack, experts recommend several measures: limit the range of Wi-Fi access points, hide network names (SSID) and implement mandatory multi-factor authentication. This new threat highlights the importance of considering not only the security of one’s own network, but also that of organizations physically nearby.
This discovery, presented at the Cyberwarcon conference in Virginia, marks a turning point in cybersecurity. It demonstrates that attackers can now compromise sensitive networks without ever having to physically approach their targetmaking attack detection and attribution significantly more complex. If you are on a public Wi-Fi network, we remind you that there are some techniques to protect yourself from potential hackers.
