John Demers, assistant attorney general for
the National Security Division, accompanied
by FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich, at a
news conference on Monday. Credit:
Andrew Hamik/AFP/Getty Image
The United States on Monday unsealed criminal charges against six Russian intelligence officers in connection with some of the world’s most damaging cyberattacks, including disruption of Ukraine’s power grid and the release of a mock ransomware virus that infected computers globally and caused billions of dollars in damage.
That group, authorities alleged, also hacked computers supporting the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, hacked and leaked emails of individuals involved in Emmanuel Macron’s 2017 campaign for president of France, and targeted the organizations investigating the poisoning of former Russian operative Sergei Skripal two years ago in Britain.
The alleged hackers are members of the same military intelligence agency — the GRU — previously charged in connection with efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. And one of those charged Monday, 29-year-old Anatoliy Kovalev, was also indicted as part of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation of the alleged conspiracy to hack American election systems that year [....]
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coverage without paywall:
by artappraiser on Mon, 10/19/2020 - 10:27pm