U.S. Department of Justice charges Russian officials with cybercrimes

• The US..Department of Justice has charged six Russian officials allegedly responsible for the most destructive cybercrimes in recent history
• The six intelligence officers work for Military Unit 74455, a sub-division of Russia’s military intelligence agency GRU
• The charges include conspiracy to conduct computer fraud and abuse, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and damaging protected computers, amongst others
• The Russian officials are also alleged to have instigated the NotPetya global ransomware attack, which is now considered the most destructive and widespread malware outbreak in history
• Despite the charges, the group currently remain in Russia and are unlikely to be extradited

The US Department of Justice has charged six Russian officials allegedly responsible for the most destructive cybercrimes in recent history.

The group in question are intelligence officers who work for Military Unit 74455, a sub-division of Russia’s military intelligence agency GRU.

A federal grand jury in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, returned an indictment in which the group were charged with at least seven crimes. These included conspiracy to conduct computer fraud and abuse, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and damaging protected computers, amongst others.

However, this list does not come close to covering the litany of crimes which the group have allegedly committed in the last five years.

In late 2015 and early 2016, a cyberattack reportedly connected to the group took down Ukraine’s power grid, causing nation-wide electrical blackouts around Christmas time.

In April and May 2017, the group purportedly launched a hack and leak operation which targeted the French elections. 

Later that year, the group is alleged to have instigated the NotPetya global ransomware attack. After causing tens of billions of dollars in damages, NotPetya is now considered the most destructive and widespread malware outbreak in history. 

While NotPetya started in Ukraine, it soon spread to other countries, causing debilitating losses for global companies. One such victim was the shipping giant Maersk, which experienced a temporary collapse of operations after the malware locked down its computer systems.

The cyber-assaults continued into 2018, when another attack targeted the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, which had recently banned Russian athletes from competing due to a doping scandal.

Commenting on the charges, U.S. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said no country has weaponised its cyber-capabilities as maliciously or irresponsibly as Russia.

“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. No nation will recapture greatness while behaving in this way,” he said.

Despite the charges, the group currently remain in Russia, where they are likely to stay. As such, the U.S. Department of Justice’s announcement can only serve as an opportunity to name and shame a group it believes are currently beyond the reach of arrest or extradition.