US busts Russian cyber operation in dozens of countries

apnews.com...

A bit of good news today on the global war on terror. The US has dismantled a long running Russian hacking operation, perpetrated by the Russian FSB intel agency on over 50 unsuspecting countries. Over the last 20 years, the Russian intel has effectively used the hacking tool Snake to infiltrate systems and exfiltrate secrets and information.

That ended today.

The Justice Department said Tuesday that it had disrupted a long-running Russian cyberespionage campaign that infected computer networks in dozens of countries, including in the United States, and resulted in the theft of sensitive information from governments.

Prosecutors linked the spying operation to a unit of Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, and accused the hackers of stealing documents from hundreds of computer systems belonging to governments of NATO members, an unidentified journalist for a U.S. news organization who reported on Russia, and other select targets of interest to the Kremlin.

“For 20 years, the FSB has relied on the Snake malware to conduct cyberespionage against the United States and our allies — that ends today,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen, the head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, said in a statement.

The coolest thing about this is that the counter operation damaged the Russian systems so greatly that our intel does not believe they will be able to bring it back up again.

The Justice Department, using a warrant this week from a federal judge in Brooklyn, launched what it said was a high-tech operation using a specialized tool called Perseus that caused the malware to effectively self-destruct.

Federal officials said they were confident that, based on the impact of its operation this week, the FSB would not be able to reconstitute the malware implant.

And to the 50 countries in the world who were being spied on and your government and personal data stolen -- you're welcome!

a reply to: Mahogany

Oh wow. I remember a few years ago reading that experts didn't think there was actually any way to counter Snake.

The fact they not only countered it but burned it to the ground is impressive.

But who watches the "good" watchmen???

originally posted by: DerBeobachter
But who watches the "good" watchmen???

One step at a time I suppose. Let’s celebrate this victory before heading off to the next battle. There are bad actors all over the world.

a reply to: Mahogany

US busts Russian cyber operation in dozens of countries.

It wasn't just The US.

The UK and its allies have destroyed Moscow’s ‘premier espionage’ tool, it has been announced. Together with the FBI, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), part of GCHQ, along with security forces from New Zealand, Australia and Canada, revealed how they dismantled the Snake malware implant.

www.telegraph.co.uk...

Factual reporting please.