Threat actors with suspected ties to Russia have been observed taking advantage of a Google account feature called application specific passwords (or app passwords) as part of a novel social engineering tactic designed to gain access to victims’ emails.
Details of the highly targeted campaign were disclosed by Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) and the Citizen Lab, stating the activity

Threat actors with suspected ties to Russia have been observed taking advantage of a Google account feature called application specific passwords (or app passwords) as part of a novel social engineering tactic designed to gain access to victims’ emails.
Details of the highly targeted campaign were disclosed by Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) and the Citizen Lab, stating the activity