DOJ Indicts Six Russian Agents on Cyber Warfare Charges Spanning the Globe

If there is one thing that we absolutely understand about Russia and their place on the world’s stage, it’s that they really don’t mind being the bad guys.

Vladimir Putin is an unabashed dictator, who has clung to power via snake-like legislative maneuvers that are only thinly veiled by some twisted version of diplomacy.  And, seeing as he’s not going to be leaving office any time soon, the Russian leader has been effectively operating without checks and balances both at home and abroad.  This has allowed Putin to meddle in the affairs of nations around the world, looking to destabilize as many locales as he can in the quest for Russian dominance.

This week, the Department of Justice leveled some heavy accusations against six Russian agents who were operating nefariously in cyberspace. 

The Justice Department Monday announced an indictment against six Russia GRU officers charged with engaging in a series of hacking and malware deployment operations to attack other countries’ infrastructure, elections and other actions designed to further Russia’s interests.

The indictment specifically accuses the six alleged hackers of engaging in computer intrusions “intended to support Russian government efforts to undermine, retaliate against or otherwise destabilize” Ukraine, Georgia, elections in France, the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games and international efforts to hold Russia accountable for its use of the nerve agent Novichok on foreign soil.

And if this sounds familiar, it’s because it is:

According to the Justice Department, several members of the same military group were previously charged for their role in Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 election, though the allegations in Monday’s indictment do not relate to U.S. election interference.

U.S. officials at virtual press conference at DOJ described the hacking campaign as among “the most destructive and costly cyber-attacks in history,” dealing with “some of the world’s most destructive malware to date.”

These attacks are costly as well, often holding sensitive healthcare systems hostage until a ransom is paid.