Pawn Storm Targets Adobe Flash, Uses Russian Actions in Syria as Lure

The attackers behind the ongoing Pawn Storm campaign have just added an Adobe Flash Zero Day attack to their arsenal.

Trend Micro researchers have just uncovered evidence that Pawn Storm attackers have found and are actively exploiting a new, unpatched vulnerability affecting Adobe Flash.

This latest series of Pawn Storm attacks are also notable for targeting people in various foreign ministries using spear phishing emails with very timely lures that reference the recent entrance of Russia into the conflict in Syria. Some of the subject lines our researchers have observed include:

	“Syrian troops make gains as Putin defends air strikes” “Russia warns of response to reported US nuke buildup in Turkey, Europe” “US military reports 75 US-trained rebels return Syria”

Russia only began airstrikes in Syria one week ago, so this latest campaign shows how quickly Pawn Storm attackers can move to capitalize on current events. It also shows a keen awareness of what makes a compelling “lure” for these intended targets: the conflict in Syria is top of mind for most people involved in defense and diplomacy right now.

We have notified Adobe of this situation and are working with them on this situation. We will update this blog with more information as it becomes available.

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