A Moscow-based company sanctioned by the U.S. earlier this year has been implicated in a new influence operation aimed at undermining public support for Ukraine and eroding Western backing for the nation. The initiative, dubbed Operation Undercut by Recorded Future’s Insikt Group, has been active since at least December 2023.

The campaign, executed by the Social Design Agency (SDA), employs enhanced videos created with artificial intelligence, alongside fake websites mimicking reputable news sources, to reach audiences in Ukraine, Europe, and the United States. The primary goal of this operation is to discredit Ukrainian leadership, challenge the effectiveness of Western aid, and ignite socio-political divisions.

This latest campaign aligns with prior initiatives, such as the Doppelganger operation, which utilized social media and fake news websites to shift public perception. The SDA and its founders were previously sanctioned by the U.S. in March alongside another Russian company, Structura.

Operation Undercut utilizes the same infrastructure as other influence campaigns like Doppelganger andOperation Overload, which attempt to sway opinions surrounding significant events like the 2024 U.S. elections, the Israel-Gaza conflict, and the French elections—all aimed at weakening Western alliances and portraying Ukraine’s leaders as corrupt and ineffectual.

In a related development, the Russian-linked group APT28 (also known as GruesomeLarch) has been reported to have compromised a U.S. company using a unique tactic known as the "nearest neighbor attack." This involves initially breaching a different organization located nearby, using its resources to gain access to the target company’s network by leveraging valid wireless credentials, which were obtained through password-spray attacks.

The dual revelations of Operation Undercut and the APT28 tactic highlight the ongoing threats posed by Russian cyber operations and their efforts to undermine democratic processes and international efforts supporting Ukraine.

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