Hackers impersonate Ukraine’s CERT to trick people into allowing computer access

Concerning development in the cyber threat landscape, malicious actors have launched a sophisticated social engineering campaign by impersonating Ukraine’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-UA). The attackers are leveraging the trusted reputation of CERT-UA to deceive victims into granting unauthorized access to their computer systems.
According to cybersecurity analysts, this campaign began circulating in late December 2024 and gained significant traction in early January 2025. The attackers crafted emails that appeared to originate from legitimate CERT-UA officials, using spoofed email addresses and forged government letterheads. The messages typically warn recipients of an alleged security breach or malware infection on their systems and urge immediate remediation by following a provided link or executing an attached file.
Once the victim complies—either by downloading a malicious file or by granting remote desktop access—the attackers can infiltrate the system, exfiltrate data, install backdoors, or deploy additional malware. The deceptive messages often carry a sense of urgency, claiming that failure to act may result in severe consequences, such as legal liability or system compromise.
Cybersecurity firms have linked this campaign to a broader trend of state-sponsored and financially motivated threat actors exploiting geopolitical tensions. Ukraine, which has been at the forefront of hybrid cyber warfare in recent years, continues to face relentless cyberattacks targeting its government, infrastructure, and citizens.
CERT-UA issued a public advisory on January 10, 2025, confirming that it had not sent any such warnings and urging individuals and organizations to verify communications through official channels. Authorities are currently investigating the incident and coordinating with international cybersecurity partners to identify the source of the attack.
This incident highlights the growing threat of impersonation-based cyberattacks and underscores the need for public vigilance, employee awareness training, and robust verification mechanisms in handling cybersecurity communications.