US charges Russian military intelligence officers for carrying out cyberattacks

The United States on October 19 charged six Russian military foreign intelligence officers for carrying out cyberattacks across the world. The six hackers charged by the US Justice Department are officers in the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), a military intelligence agency of the Russian armed forces. The six hackers are charged for carrying out attacks in Ukraine, France, UK, and Georgia and also for targetting Novichok poisoning investigations. 

"No country has weaponized its cyber capabilities as maliciously or irresponsibly as Russia, wantonly causing unprecedented damage to pursue small tactical advantages and to satisfy fits of spite. Today the department has charged these Russian officers with conducting the most disruptive and destructive series of computer attacks ever attributed to a single group, including by unleashing the NotPetya malware.  No nation will recapture greatness while behaving in this way," said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers.  

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Hackers used destructive malware

The hackers used destructive malware like BlackEnergy, Industroyer, and KillDisk to target Ukraine's electric power grid, Ministry of Finance, and State Treasury Service from December 2015 through December 2016. In France, the hackers targetted President Emmanuel Macron’s political party prior to the 2017 presidential elections. The hackers in 2018 targetted organizations that were carrying out investigations into the poisoning of former Russian military officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter using nerve agent Novichok.

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In addition to this, the hackers targetted computer networks globally using destructive malware known as NotPetya. The malware affected hospitals, a FedEx Corporation subsidiary - TNT Express B.V., a US pharmaceutical manufacturer, among other facilities. The Justice Department estimates that the attack caused nearly $1 billion in losses. In 2018, the hackers targetted Georgian companies and parliament. 

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The hackers also attacked PyeongChang Winter Olympics hosts, participants, partners, and attendees through malicious mobile applications. The hackers also targetted the games' IT systems and the opening ceremony, using malware known as Olympic Destroyer. The attacks on the PyeongChang Winter Olympics were carried out after Russian athletes were banned from taking part under the nation's flag over state-sponsored doping charges.

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