The United States government is accusing two Russian hackers of conducting an allegedly sophisticated "spear phishing" campaign to interfere with the 2019 UK election.
American officials said that one of the suspects, identified as Ruslan Aleksandrovich Pereyatko, is an officer in the Federal Security Service (FSB), the Russian intelligence service. On Tuesday, a federal grand jury in San Francisco indicted him along with another man, identified as Andrey Stanislavovich Korinets.
Russian Hackers Accused of "Spear Phishing" Campaign
The two men are accused of coordinating the "Callisto Group," which is supposedly responsible for sending spear-phishing emails to current and former military and government officials. They are also accused of sending emails to think-tank employees, journalists, and others.
The emails were allegedly sent as part of efforts to hack computers and release the information that they acquired. Officials added that the suspects are still at large and are believed to be in Russia. They are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, as per the Washington Post.
The two men are also facing financial sanctions in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The charges are the latest action by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in an attempt to disrupt Russian efforts to hack computers in the West and influence democratic elections in the United States and elsewhere.
A dozen Russian intelligence officials were indicted and charged in 2018 with hacking computers to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Authorities believe that the Callisto Group has been active from at least October 2016 through October 2022.
The group's alleged activities include the targeting of a range of U.S. agencies, including intelligence agencies, the State Department, and the Department of Energy. Officials said that in some cases, hacking efforts were successful and affected the Department of Energy and think tanks in the UK.
Interfering With the 2019 UK Elections
The hacking attempts involved in the latest indictment were said to have been successful in getting into computer networks in the US, the UK, Ukraine, and other NATO member countries. The suspects allegedly stole information used in foreign malign influence operations that were designed to meddle with the UK's election in 2019, according to The Hill.
The spear phishing campaign often included emails that tricked recipients into providing their login credentials. This then allowed the hackers to access the victims' email accounts whenever they wanted to.
Some of these emails were sent from "spoofed" accounts that were designed to look like other personal and work-related emails. Sometimes, the online messages claimed that users had violated terms of service on an account and had to log in via a provided link.
In a statement, the head of the DOJ's National Security Division, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen said that Russia has once again demonstrated its commitment to using weaponized campaigns of cyber espionage against foreign networks.
An official from the DOJ claimed that the FSB unit that Peretyatko works for, FSB 18, is meant to be a counterpart to the FBI's cybersecurity arm. However, in this particular case, it was instead used offensively, said CBS News.
