The US Department of Justice has accused six members of the Russian military intelligence agency of alleged involvement in cyberattacks around the world against several countries.
The allegations, announced Monday in Pittsburgh, represent a rare move by the US administration that publicly revealed the names of the six 007s.
According to the US government, the six Russian agents have been instrumental in some of the most destructive and damaging cyberattacks that have taken place around the world in the past five years.
The prosecution claims that the six Russian intelligence agents were members of a hacker group called the "Sandworm Team" and "Voodoo Bear". In reality, however, they were - and probably still are - employees of Unit 74455 of the Chief Intelligence Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces, known as the GRU. Their cyber attacks used all of the GRU's resources, according to the indictment. They were therefore "highly advanced" attacks and were carried out in support of "Russian economic and national objectives". At times, the group would try to hide his traces and his connections with the Russian government, making it appear that his cyber attacks were carried out by hackers linked to China and North Korea. However, according to the US government, its operations and objectives were realized "for the strategic advantage of Russia".
The hacker group has been active since late 2015 and is alleged to have continued its operations until at least October 2019. The alleged attacks include a major attack on Ukraine's electricity grid in December 2015, which left hundreds of thousands of people without electricity and heating. Other alleged attacks targeted the government of Georgia and the 2017 French national elections. The allegations include alleged attacks on Western chemical laboratories investigating the toxic substance used in 2018 against former GRU officer Sergei Skripal in England.