Amazon’s cybersecurity team has successfully disrupted a sophisticated watering hole campaign orchestrated by APT29, a notorious hacking group linked to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service.
The August 2025 operation represents the latest chapter in an ongoing cyber warfare battle between tech giants and state-sponsored threat actors seeking to infiltrate global networks and harvest sensitive credentials.
APT29’s Shift: Domains to Website Hacks
The Russian cyber unit, also known as Midnight Blizzard, has demonstrated remarkable adaptability in its attack methodologies throughout 2024 and 2025.
This latest campaign marks a significant tactical shift from previous operations, showcasing the group’s ability to evolve under pressure from cybersecurity defenders.
Unlike their October 2024 campaign that relied on AWS domain impersonation to distribute malicious Remote Desktop Protocol files, APT29’s newest approach involved compromising legitimate websites and injecting obfuscated JavaScript code.
The attackers strategically redirected only 10% of website visitors to avoid detection, demonstrating a calculated approach to maximize impact while minimizing exposure.
Key tactical improvements included:
- Using randomization techniques to redirect only a small percentage of visitors.
- Employing base64 encoding to hide malicious code from detection systems.
- Setting cookies to prevent repeated redirects of the same visitor.
- Rapidly pivoting to new infrastructure when existing domains were blocked.
The group’s technical sophistication was evident in their use of multiple evasion techniques, allowing them to maintain operational security while casting a wider net for potential victims.
Microsoft Auth Flow Targeted
The campaign’s ultimate objective centered on exploiting Microsoft’s device code authentication system, a legitimate feature that allows users to authorize new devices for account access.
APT29 created convincing fake Cloudflare verification pages on domains like findcloudflare[.]com, designed to trick users into authorizing attacker-controlled devices through Microsoft’s authentication workflow.
Amazon’s threat intelligence team discovered the operation through specialized analytics designed to detect APT29 infrastructure patterns.
The investigation revealed that the Russian operatives had successfully compromised various legitimate websites, turning them into unwitting weapons in their intelligence collection campaign.
Crucially, Amazon confirmed that no AWS systems were compromised during the operation, and there was no direct impact on AWS services or infrastructure.
When Amazon and its partners moved to disrupt the initial infrastructure, APT29 quickly adapted by migrating operations to alternative cloud providers and registering new domains such as cloudflare[.]redirectpartners[.]com.
This cat-and-mouse game highlighted the persistent nature of state-sponsored cyber operations and the need for continuous vigilance from cybersecurity defenders.
Collaboration Boosts Cyber Defense
Amazon’s response demonstrates the critical importance of public-private partnerships in combating sophisticated cyber threats.
Upon discovering the campaign, Amazon immediately coordinated with multiple industry partners, including Cloudflare and Microsoft, to isolate compromised systems and share threat intelligence.
The company also worked to disrupt the attackers’ domains and provided crucial information to help other organizations protect their users.
Security experts recommend that organizations implement robust protective measures, including mandatory multi-factor authentication, careful verification of device authorization requests, and enhanced monitoring of authentication events.
IT administrators are advised to review Microsoft’s device authentication guidance and consider disabling the feature if unnecessary for business operations.
The successful disruption of this campaign underscores the ongoing evolution of cyber warfare tactics and the need for constant adaptation by cybersecurity professionals.
As APT29 continues to refine its methods, the cybersecurity community must maintain collaborative intelligence sharing and proactive threat hunting to stay ahead of these persistent adversaries.
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