US accuses Russians of cyberattacks on Ukraine ahead of full-scale invasion
Illustrative photo: Russian hackers have been indicted in the United States (Getty Images)
In the US, six Russian citizens have been accused of carrying out cyberattacks on Ukraine and NATO in advance of the full-scale invasion, according to the US Department of Justice.
According to the Department, charges have been brought against five officers from the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU):
- Yuriy Denisov
- Vladislav Borovkov
- Denis Denisenko
- Dmitriy Goloshubov
- Nikolay Korchagin
The sixth defendant is Amin Sitgal, a civilian born in Chechnya.
US authorities have determined that on January 13, 2022, the criminal group carried out a cyberattack on several Ukrainian institutions, including the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Finance, and the Accounting Chamber.
During the cyberattack, the perpetrators managed to steal confidential data from Ukrainians, including medical records. Additionally, the websites of Ukrainian ministries displayed the following message:
"Ukrainians! All information about you has become public, be afraid and expect the worst. This is for your past, present and future."
In August 2022, the defendants also hacked the transport infrastructure of a Central European country that supported Ukraine.
Since August 2021, the defendants probed various protected computer systems, including those related to 26 NATO member countries, in search of potential vulnerabilities.
Background
In January 2022, one of the most significant cyberattacks on Ukrainian government websites was reported.
The attackers tried to impersonate Poles but failed. Later, Ukrainian law enforcement officers involved foreign colleagues in the investigation.
