Russian Espionage Campaign: Midnight Blizzard Uses Wine Tasting Lure to Target European Diplomats

A new and sophisticated cyberattack campaign targeting European diplomats has been uncovered, revealing an intricate method of espionage by the Russian nation-state actor known as Midnight Blizzard. In this latest operation, the group uses an unexpected lure: wine-tasting invitations. The campaign primarily focuses on Ministries of Foreign Affairs and embassies across multiple European nations. As the cybercriminal group behind the attack, Midnight Blizzard—also known as Cozy Bear or APT29—continues to refine its methods, deploying advanced malware to exfiltrate sensitive information for intelligence purposes.

The Campaign: Wine-Tasting Invitations as Phishing Bait

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The malicious content in the archive initiated a series of actions designed to compromise the victim’s system. Even if the first attempt at infection failed, the attackers followed up with additional waves of emails, further pressuring the target to click the link.

Interestingly, the servers hosting the malicious files are heavily protected against automated analysis, meaning they only activate the malicious payload under certain conditions, such as specific times or geographical locations. This makes detection significantly harder for security systems, allowing the attackers to maintain a level of stealth.

Grapeloader: The New Malware Loader

The malicious “wine.zip” archive contains several files, one of which is a heavily obfuscated Dynamic Link Library (DLL) file named ppcore.dll. This DLL functions as a loader known as Grapeloader. Once executed, Grapeloader performs several functions that serve as preliminary steps in the attack, including:

Persistence: Grapeloader ensures the malware remains active by modifying the Windows registry’s Run key, which guarantees that the malware (wine.exe) is executed upon each system reboot.
Fingerprinting: The loader collects information on the compromised environment, such as system configurations, before reaching out to the next stage of the payload.
Next-stage Payload Delivery: Grapeloader also retrieves the main attack tool, a new version of Wineloader, which continues the espionage operation.

Grapeloader has been designed with several anti-analysis techniques to evade detection. These include string obfuscation, runtime API resolving, and DLL unhooking, making it difficult for traditional security measures to identify it.

Wineloader: The Final Payload in the Espionage Attack

The true purpose of this campaign is to deploy Wineloader, a modular backdoor designed for espionage and intelligence gathering. Once Grapeloader has established persistence and fingerprinted the infected system, it downloads and executes Wineloader, which works by collecting critical data from the compromised machine. This includes:

System Information: The malware gathers details such as the IP address, machine name, Windows username, and process IDs.
Data Exfiltration: Once the data is collected, it is transmitted to a command and control (C2) server controlled by the attackers, completing the espionage operation.

Notably, Wineloader has evolved from previous iterations, with advanced techniques aimed at avoiding detection. These techniques include code mutation, junk instruction insertion, and structural obfuscation—measures that help the malware remain undetected by security systems and anti-virus tools.

This advanced form of malware, coupled with the evolving methods of its delivery, shows just how much Midnight Blizzard has refined its cyber-espionage tactics. The group continues to use sophisticated techniques that make it harder for defenders to detect and mitigate such attacks.

What Undercode Say:

Midnight Blizzard, or APT29, is one of the most well-known cyber-espionage groups tied to the Russian government. Its primary objective is to gather intelligence from foreign governments, critical industries, and high-value targets. This latest campaign, using a seemingly innocuous wine-tasting invitation as a lure, underscores the group’s growing sophistication in targeting diplomats and other key governmental figures.

The use of highly targeted phishing emails with well-crafted social engineering lures shows a deep understanding of the potential victims and a strategic approach to cyber-infiltration. By pretending to offer something as benign as a wine-tasting event, the attackers lower the guard of their targets, making them more likely to fall for the malicious link.

The introduction of Grapeloader as an initial malware loader demonstrates the group’s increasing investment in sophisticated and custom-made tools. Grapeloader’s ability to establish persistence and gather crucial data about the target environment allows for a more targeted deployment of Wineloader, which is capable of executing a full-fledged espionage operation. This is a textbook example of how nation-state actors employ multi-stage attacks to avoid detection and extract sensitive information over long periods.

Furthermore, the anti-analysis techniques used by both Grapeloader and Wineloader illustrate how cyber-espionage groups are adapting to modern cybersecurity defenses. The obfuscation methods, code mutation, and use of junk instructions all serve to confuse detection algorithms, making it harder for traditional security measures to spot the malware in action. These tactics reflect a shift toward more stealthy, long-term infiltration strategies, allowing adversaries to maintain access to systems for months, if not years.

The strategic use of time-based and geolocation-based triggers further enhances the stealth of this attack, adding yet another layer of complexity for defenders. This suggests that Midnight Blizzard, like many advanced persistent threat (APT) groups, is learning to operate in increasingly sophisticated ways, bypassing even modern cybersecurity frameworks.

As the threat landscape evolves, governments and organizations need to strengthen their defense mechanisms. This includes improving their ability to detect and respond to social engineering attacks, as well as employing more advanced anti-malware and monitoring systems capable of detecting such targeted, multi-stage attacks.

Fact Checker Results:

The article accurately identifies Midnight Blizzard (APT29) as a Russian cyber-espionage group linked to the country’s foreign intelligence service (SVR).
The details about the “wine.zip” malware and its stages are consistent with the findings reported by cybersecurity researchers.
Techniques such as string obfuscation, runtime API resolving, and anti-analysis methods align with current trends in advanced persistent threat operations.