A fresh wave of digital intrusions, tied to Russian operatives known as APT28, emerges through findings uncovered by S2 Grupo’s LAB52 analysts. Throughout late 2025 into early 2026, these efforts quietly unfolded across Western and Central European institutions. Dubbed Operation MacroMaze, the pattern reveals reliance on minimalistic yet precisely timed actions. Instead of complex tools, attackers favored subtle coordination – bypassing alarms by design. Each phase unfolded with restraint, avoiding flashiness while maintaining persistence behind the scenes.
Starting the operation, cyber actors send targeted emails with harmful attachments designed to trick users. Instead of using typical methods, these documents include an XML feature named “INCLUDEPICTURE.” That field points to a JPG stored on webhook[.]site, acting as a hidden reference. As soon as someone views the file, the system pulls the image from that external address. Unlike passive downloads, this transfer initiates a background connection outward. Midway through loading, the request exposes details about the user’s environment automatically. So, without visible signs, attackers receive confirmation plus technical footprints tied to the access event.
Over time, different versions of the documents appeared, spotted by analysts during an extended review period. Each one carried small changes in macro design, though the core behavior stayed largely unchanged. Instead of sticking with automated browser launching, newer samples began mimicking keystrokes through SendKeys functions. This shift may have aimed at dodging detection mechanisms while keeping interactions less obvious to people opening files.
When turned on, it runs a Visual Basic Script pushing the attack forward. A CMD file gets started by the script, setting up ongoing access using timed system jobs before releasing a batch routine. Out of nowhere, a tiny HTML segment encoded in Base64 appears inside Edge running without display. That fragment pulls directives from one online trigger point, carries out those steps on the machine, gathers what happens, then sends everything back – packed into an HTML document – to another web destination.
A different version of the batch script skips headless browsing by shifting the browser window beyond the visible screen area. Following that shift, any active Edge instances are closed – this isolates the runtime setting. Once the created HTML document opens, form submission begins on its own, sending captured command results to a server managed by the attacker, all without engaging the user.
LAB52 points out that the attack shows hackers using ordinary tools – batch scripts, minimal VBS launchers, basic HTML forms – to form a working breach system. Hidden browser tabs become operational zones, letting intrusions unfold without obvious footprints. Webhook platforms, meant for routine tasks, carry commands one way and stolen information the other. Instead of loud breaches, quiet integration with standard processes helps evade detection. The method thrives not on complexity, but on repurposing everyday components in stealthy ways.
What stands out in Operation MacroMaze is how basic tools, when timed precisely, achieve advanced results. Not complexity – but clever order – defines its success. Common programs, used one after another in quiet succession, form an invisible path through defenses. Trusted system features play a central role, slipping past alarms. Persistence emerges not from novelty, but repetition masked as routine. Across several European organizations, the method survives simply by avoiding attention.
This article has been indexed from CySecurity News – Latest Information Security and Hacking Incidents
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