A 22-year-old Russian citizen has been indicted by the US Department of Justice for allegedly attacking Ukrainian government computers and destroying critical infrastructure systems.
If convicted, the man could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison. In the meantime, a reward of up to $10 million has also been issued for information on his location or cyber activity by American authorities.
“As alleged, the defendant conspired with Russian military intelligence on the eve of Russia’s unjust and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine to launch cyberattacks targeting the Ukrainian government and later targeting its allies, including the United States.” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in the government press release.
The FBI Baltimore Field Office is currently investigating the case which remains ongoing.
“The Department will do its part to prevent and disrupt such malicious behavior that relies upon online services or infrastructure in the U.S., or that targets U.S. victims.
“We will also identify, pursue, and eventually hold to account those responsible for Russia’s malicious actions, including the cybercriminals that the Russian government cultivates in furtherance of its malign agenda,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen.
In the government document, the Special Agent in Charge William J. Delbagno of the FBI Baltimore Field Office expresses how the FBI is committed to “combating cyber threats both at home and internationally.
“To those adversaries who seek to compromise our international partners’ systems, know you will be identified and you will face consequences for your actions. The FBI vows to continually pursue justice and disrupt malicious cyber actors.”
What was WhisperGate?
According to court documents, in January of 2022, a group of people are alleged to have conspired to use a U.S.-based company’s services to distribute malware known in the cybersecurity community as ‘WhisperGate’ to dozens of Ukrainian government entities’ computer systems.
On January 13, the attack on multiple Ukrainian government networks was said to have taken place with the computers being infected by networks with a malware called WhisperGate.
This has since been described as a cyber weapon used to destroy the target computer and data.
Featured Image: Via Wikimedia Commons
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