Today, September 5, 2024, a court in Maryland issued indictments against six Russian hackers, including five officers from Unit 29155 of the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence agency. The sixth defendant is a civilian who is also charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and fraud.
The US Department of Justice claims that these individuals carried out hacking attacks on Ukrainian government systems to cause panic among the Ukrainian population and destabilize state structures before the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In the future, these hackers targeted the computer systems of countries that provided assistance to Ukraine, including the United States.
The attacks, known as the “WhisperGate” campaign, were aimed at destroying computer systems linked to the Ukrainian government, as well as stealing and publishing data. Non-military government systems, such as the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Agriculture of Ukraine, were targeted. After these attacks, hackers spread fake messages that aimed to intimidate Ukrainians, claiming that all their personal information had been compromised.
The charges are part of an international operation called “Toy Soldier” aimed at combating cybercrime linked to the GRU unit 29155. The US Department of Justice and the FBI continue to work with international partners to combat this threat and vow to bring those responsible to justice for their criminal actions.
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