Positive Technologies Uncovers Disinformation Factory Linking 45 Domains and 74 Telegram Channels
Researchers from Positive Technologies have identified a large-scale disinformation factory that combined fraudulent emails, fabricated news sites, and coordinated social-media amplification. The operation involved 45 domains and at least 74 Telegram channels, forming a single, self-sustaining information network.
The scheme started with emails sent on behalf of Russian government agencies and major companies. Attackers used domains such as minpromtorg.digital, gosuslugi.digital, and rosstat.live that closely resembled official addresses but employed zones including .digital, .live, and .work. Recipients were asked to provide lists of employees, salary information, and other internal data, likely to support subsequent targeted phishing campaigns. The messages contained no malicious attachments; their purpose was to verify active addresses and willing respondents.
At the same time, operators ran a parallel network of pseudo-news websites. These platforms blended authentic publications with invented stories, referenced nonexistent sources, and adopted regional narratives. Among the identified domains were rulenta.live, crime24.live, daganews.ru, and pressklub.az. Fabricated claims published on one site were frequently cited by others as authoritative confirmation, creating a closed loop of apparent legitimacy.
Distribution relied on multiple platforms: VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Telegram. Channels were disguised as regional or patriotic communities and often posted identical material simultaneously, driving traffic to the linked websites. Some channels had accumulated thousands of subscribers.
Investigators observed a possible connection to the cybercriminal group Rare Werewolf. One domain previously hosted an archive named bk.rar, a path previously associated with the group’s infrastructure. However, Positive Technologies stated that available evidence is insufficient for definitive attribution and described the link as probable rather than confirmed.
The operation illustrates a complete information pipeline: reconnaissance emails collect contact data, pseudo-news sites lend credibility to fabrications, and synchronized social-media activity ensures wide dissemination to targeted audiences.
Related articles
Russian Court Bans Advertising for Renting and Selling Third-Party Bank Cards
The Chertanovsky District Court of Moscow has ruled that information promoting the rental and sale of other people's bank cards is prohibited for distribution in Russia. The decision targets a website and two Telegram channels that offered users the chance to temporarily lend or permanently sell their cards to third parties. Such schemes are commonly used to recruit drops who help receive, transfer, and cash out stolen funds. The court found that these proposals violate the rights and legitimate interests of citizens. Owners of the resources could not be identified, and domain registrars were foreign companies. VTB had previously warned about these schemes in 2024, noting that card owners risk ending up on bank blacklists, losing access to financial services, and facing criminal charges. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has also highlighted that transferring bank cards and accounts to outsiders can lead to criminal liability, with fraudsters particularly targeting children and teenagers.
Smart Engines Patents AI Method to Detect Holographic Security Features in Documents Using Visible Light Only
Smart Engines has developed and patented a new technique that identifies optically variable devices such as holograms on identity documents without requiring ultraviolet illumination. The approach relies on a standard document scanner equipped with six independently controlled LEDs that capture a sequence of six images under different lighting angles while the document and camera remain stationary. After dark-current correction and calibration against a white reference sheet, the system normalizes the images and computes per-pixel color-vector standard deviation to generate an OVD map. A simple thresholding and region-of-interest analysis then produces a binary verdict indicating whether a genuine holographic element is present. The method effectively distinguishes original documents from high-quality color prints, photocopies, and physical replicas that cannot reproduce the angle-dependent color shifts of real OVDs. All processing occurs with existing scanner hardware, demonstrating that algorithmic interpretation of controlled illumination can add a new authenticity signal without additional optics or spectral channels.
YooMoney's YuScan Automates E-commerce Risk Assessment Scanning Up to 1,000 Sites Per Hour
YooMoney has detailed the inner workings of its YuScan service, an automated auditing tool designed to help banks and payment providers identify websites that conceal prohibited or high-risk activities. Since 2020 the system has processed more than 550,000 merchant applications without resulting in any fines for servicing illegal operations. YuScan builds comprehensive site maps, executes JavaScript, and handles dynamic content using Playwright combined with Camoufox to evade modern anti-bot protections such as Cloudflare. The crawler is built on Scrapy with FastAPI and PostgreSQL, then applies ML models, embeddings, and LLMs to analyze text, images, reviews, and external signals including Roskomnadzor registries and WHOIS data. The automation has reduced manual review time dramatically, allowing half of compliant merchants to begin accepting payments within 24 hours. YooKassa now offers the service to other banks through NSPK, the operator of the Mir payment system.
Scammers Pose as Employers to Remotely Lock iPhones and Demand Ransom
Russian police have warned of a new social engineering scheme in which fraudsters impersonate potential employers to gain control of victims' Apple devices. The attackers instruct targets to sign out of their personal Apple accounts and authenticate using credentials supplied by the supposed employer. Once the device links to the fraudster's account, the scammers can remotely lock the iPhone or iPad and demand payment for unlocking it. Authorities emphasize that paying the ransom does not guarantee recovery of the device and may lead to further extortion demands. Victims are advised never to enter third-party Apple credentials on personal hardware and to contact Apple Support with proof of purchase if a device is already locked. The scheme exploits the Find My and Activation Lock features built into iOS devices.