US expands indictment against Russians in ‘WhisperGate’ plot to destroy Ukrainian, NATO systems – ABC 6 News

BALTIMORE (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department has expanded charges against Russians in connection with the so-called WhisperGate malware attacks that targeted computer systems in Ukraine and 26 NATO member states, including the United States.

The superseding indictment, announced Thursday, names five Russian military intelligence officers who participated in a conspiracy to demoralize the Ukrainian people on the eve of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The WhisperGate attacks in January 2022 could be considered Russia’s first shot at war, said William DelBagno, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Baltimore field office. The cyberattacks penetrated U.S. companies and targeted Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and non-defense computer systems, including the judiciary, emergency services, food security and education, the officials said.

“In an attempt to undermine the morale of the Ukrainian public, the defendants also stole and disclosed the personal information of thousands of Ukrainian civilians, including by posting patient health information and other confidential private data for sale online, and then taunting those victims,” said Matthew Olsen, assistant attorney general for national security.

Olsen told a news conference in Baltimore that the attacks were not limited to Ukraine. Maryland U.S. Attorney Eric Barron also attended the conference.

A graphic depicting Russian suspects wanted by the FBI in connection with a conspiracy to conduct criminal cyber activities against Ukrainian government systems is presented during a news conference at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Baltimore, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Stephanie Scarbrough

Olsen said. “They then attacked computer systems in other countries, supporting Ukraine in its fight for survival. Ultimately, they targeted computer systems in 26 NATO partner countries, including the United States.”

A federal grand jury in Baltimore has indicted military intelligence officers Vladislav Borovkov, Denis Denisenko, Yuri Denisov, Dmitry Goloshubov and Nikolai Korchagin, as well as Amin Timovich Stigal, a 22-year-old Russian civilian indicted in June, on charges of conspiring to gain unauthorized access to computers linked to the governments of Ukraine and its allies.

In total, the U.S. government is offering $60 million in rewards for help identifying their location or malicious cyber activity. All six are believed to be in Russia, but federal officials said the indictment is useful in any case to prevent them from traveling and to show that the U.S. has exposed their plot.

DelBagno said the U.S. investigation, dubbed Operation Toy Soldier, found that the defendants committed fraud in the U.S. by illegally accessing bank accounts and using an American company to unknowingly commit crimes.

“To add insult to injury, these people not only used vulnerability scanning tools 63 times on a government agency based in Maryland, USA, but also scanned our allies around the world, including Ukrainian servers and servers in various other countries,” Barron said.

The FBI and other governments have issued a joint cybersecurity advisory detailing how the attacks are carried out and steps that can be taken to prevent them, officials said.

Countering Russian cyber threats will require ongoing efforts, they said. In January, the Justice Department also disrupted a botnet controlled by Russian military intelligence that officials said was being used to facilitate crimes and espionage, and in May, officials announced charges against the alleged creator of a popular ransomware variant known as LockBit.

Among other Russia-related lawsuits announced just this week are indictments unsealed Wednesday accusing two employees of RT, the Russian state-owned media company, of secretly funneling millions of dollars to a Tennessee-based content company that paid social media influencers to post videos aligned with Russia’s interests, such as on topics like the war with Ukraine.

DelBagno said the indictments are the result of years of cooperation with partners and law enforcement agencies in Europe.

“Russian criminals, the world is watching,” DelBagno said. “You don’t commit crimes in the dark. We are united in identifying, prosecuting and protecting against future crimes.”

In another move targeting Russia, the State Department on Thursday imposed sanctions on two Russian companies and two ships they own that export liquefied natural gas from a previously sanctioned Russian energy project in the Arctic. The department said the companies used profits from natural gas exports to finance Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The department said it was designating Gotik Energy Shipping Co. and Plio Energy Cargo Shipping Co., along with their LNG New Energy and LNG Mulan vessels, for “supporting Russia’s war effort and seeking to expand Russia’s global energy footprint.” The sanctions freeze any assets the companies may have in U.S. jurisdictions and prevent Americans from doing business with them.

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