USA & Britain Accuse Russia Of Hacking

Uploaded on 2023-12-08 in TECHNOLOGY--Hackers, INTELLIGENCE-Hot Spots-Russia, INTELLIGENCE-Hot Spots-China, GOVERNMENT-National, FREE TO VIEW

Russian spies have been targeting British MPs, peers, civil servants, journalists and others with hacking exploits since 2015 with the aim to engage and influence British politics, a British Foreign Office minister said this week.

In particular, a Russian state-backed group is accused of carrying out hundreds of highly targeted hacks against politicians, civil servants, those working for think-tanks, journalists, academics and others in public life.

At the same time, the US Justice Department announced charges against two Russian intelligence officers for allegedly engaging in a global hacking campaign that targeted military and government officials in the US, UK, Ukraine and NATO-member countries.

The Britsh goveremnet has said that a Russian group was behind the 2018 hacking on the Institute for Statecraft. The Russian ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Office recently because of the hacking and to explain about imposing sanctions. Leo Docherty, a minister of state underForeign Secretary David Cameron, told the House of Commons that the Russian federal security service was using “cyber interference” to target politically connected people.

He said one Russian group was behind the 2018 hack on the Institute for Statecraft, and that two individuals have been “designated” under the cyber sanctions regime as a result. Docherty said: “I can confirm today that the Russian federal security services, the FSB, is behind a sustained effort to interfere in our democratic processes. “They have targeted members of this house and the [House of Lords]. They have been targeting civil servants, journalists and NGOs. They have been targeting high-profile individuals and entities with a clear intent – using information they obtain to meddle in British politics.”Russia has repeatedly denied claims it is involved in such activities.

Foreign Secretary David Cameron descrobed the group's actions were "completely unacceptable". "Despite their repeated efforts, they have failed. We will continue to work together with our allies to expose Russian covert cyber activity and hold Russia to account for its actions," the former prime minister said.

The hacking group is known by a variety of names including Callisto, Star Blizzard, Cold River and Seaborgium. Tracked as “Star Blizzard” by Microsoft and “Cold Driver” by Google’s Threat Analysis Group, it is well-known for conducting long-running espionage campaigns against NATO countries.

It is accused of carrying out hundreds of highly targeted hacks against politicians, civil servants, those working for think-tanks, journalists, academics and others in public life. These mainly targeted the private emails of individuals following extensive research and the creation of false accounts impersonating their trusted contacts.

This group is linked to Russia'a Federal Security Service (FSB) - and specifically the part of it known as Centre 18 - has been targeting the UK by stealing information from those in political and public life since at least 2015, it is believed. Russian President Vladimir Putin was director of the FSB for a period in the 1990s.

A large amount of data is thought to have been stolen since 2015 and only a fraction of it has been made public.

Microsoft: Google TAG: British Foreign Office: BBC: Techcrunch: Spectator: Guardian:

ABC: The Week: Image: Misrad Saraljilic

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