Hacking Group MosesStaff Targets Israeli Groups

Is a ransomware attack still a ransomware attack if the attacker doesn’t demand a ransom?

That’s the question posed by MosesStaff, a group of hackers who have begun targeting organizations in Israel with the aim to solely steal information and cause political damage, Zero Day reported.

MosesStaff began targeting Israeli groups in September, following in the footsteps of groups like Pay2Key and BlackShadow, the report stated.

“In the language of the attackers, their purpose is to ‘Fight against the resistance and expose the crimes of the Zionists in the occupied territories,’” Check Point Research (CPR) said, per the report.

MosesStaff hackers likely access information through vulnerabilities in public-facing systems, like a bug in Microsoft Exchange Server, according to the report. From there, they can execute further commands and begin stealing data.

The hackers may be based in Palestine, the report stated.

“Like the Pay2Key and BlackShadow gangs before them, the MosesStaff group is motivated by politics and ideology to target Israeli organizations,” CPR researchers said, per the report. “Unlike those predecessors, however, they made an outright mistake when they put together their own encryption scheme, which is honestly a surprise in today’s landscape where every two-bit cybercriminal seems to know at least the basics of how to put together functioning ransomware.”

The news comes two days after a report that the U.S. and Israel have created a joint cybersecurity initiative designed to fight against larger attacks.

Read more: US, Israel Partner on Cybersecurity Issues

This partnership will involve information-sharing between the two nations on cybersecurity rules, hacking incidents and information about threats. It will also include more coordination between government agencies to make sure the responses to cyberattacks are as effective as possible.

“Increased information exchanges, joint work and collaboration on policy, regulation and enforcement are critical to our economic and national security objectives,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement. “Harnessing both the power of international cooperation and of technology innovation will position us to support economic competitiveness, prosperity and to combat global threats including ransomware.”