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U.S. charges 4 Russian government workers with hacking energy sector:
The U.S. Justice Department fired another legal salvo against Russia on Thursday, announcing indictments against four Russian government employees for an alleged hacking campaign targeting the energy sector that lasted for years and targeted computers in 135 countries.
An indictment in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia charges that Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh, who worked at a Russian Ministry of Defense research institute, conspired with others to damage critical infrastructure outside the United States, causing emergency shutdowns at one foreign facility. Thosecharged in the indictment, under seal since June 2021, also allegedly tried to hack the computers of a U.S. firm that managed similar facilities in the United States.
A separate indictment filed in Kansas alleges that a hacking campaign launched by Russian's federal security service, or FSB, targeted computers at hundreds of energy-related entities around the world. That indictment was also filed under seal last summer.
The hacking activity took place between 2012 and 2018, U.S. officials said. The decision to reveal the indictments underscores the concern U.S. and European officials have about Russia unleashing a wave of cyberattacks on the West in response to a new wave of sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco said there is an "urgent ongoing need for American businesses to harden their defenses and remain vigilant." She said Russian state-sponsored hackers "pose a serious and persistent threat to critical infrastructure both in the United States and around the world."
(Score: 2) by HammeredGlass on Monday March 28 2022, @09:18PM (10 children)
This is simple political distraction with the appearance of doing something.
!IF! these four people actually exist, they will never be heard from in American courts, and will laugh about these dumbass charges for the remaining days.
(Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 28 2022, @09:23PM
Their remaining days or something else's remaining days?
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday March 28 2022, @09:55PM (6 children)
How long of a memory do you have? The government doesn't just forget and forgive. All it takes is for them to visit the wrong country and they could very well find themselves on the next flight to the USA to stand trial.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 29 2022, @12:02AM
Nah, unlike Assange they haven't personally pissed off the wrong people. Everyone knows that they were acting under orders, and they all have interchangeable names anyway, giving them zero public recognition. Are you going to remember Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh? - and they didn't even bother naming the others.
IF one of them visited the US and IF someone official noticed, they might get arrested just because that's what the Kafkaian system does, but given the difficulty in proving it in court they are more likely to just pretend they never saw them. They certainly aren't going to be tracking them down in other countries, this is just theater to show "Russia Bad, Ukraine Good".
(Score: 3, Funny) by HammeredGlass on Tuesday March 29 2022, @01:52AM (2 children)
"!IF! these four people actually exist"
(Score: 2, Disagree) by Freeman on Tuesday March 29 2022, @01:36PM (1 child)
They very likely exist and very likely did what they're accused of, and very likely are in Russia or other Russia friendly country.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 02 2022, @12:36PM
You seem to be excessively naive. Have you considered taking a night class in cynicism?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Reziac on Tuesday March 29 2022, @02:33AM (1 child)
I did notice that the accused are conveniently out of reach.
My cynical little voice remarks that maybe this is to redirect attention away from a culprit nearer to hand.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Freeman on Tuesday March 29 2022, @01:42PM
Law Enforcement usually goes after whomever they can reach. In the event there was someone closer at hand, they would have nabbed him. Nothing boosts the PR like capturing a bad guy.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday March 29 2022, @04:57PM (1 child)
I suspect they are wasting from hundreds of thousands to low millions of dollars.
Wouldn't you rather have them spending their time on this than, say, dictating what the value of PI should be, or creating another SLS to nowhere, or mandating contradictory requirements how cryptography must be secure but magically becomes insecure when a warrant is presented?
While Republicans can get over Trump's sexual assaults, affairs, and vulgarity; they cannot get over Obama being black.
(Score: 2) by HammeredGlass on Wednesday March 30 2022, @12:47PM
Why is "none of the above" never an option?