The U.S. Department of Justice and Microsoft announced Thursday that they have seized 101 Internet domains used by hackers linked to Russian intelligence to target U.S. government employees, defense contractors, and civil society organizations.
Federal investigators say hackers affiliated with parts of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) targeted current and former employees of U.S.-based companies, the U.S. intelligence community, and the Departments of Defense, State, and Energy. announced that 41 domains were used in a spear phishing campaign. as a U.S. defense contractor, according to court documents unsealed Thursday.
Investigators believe the hackers were attempting to obtain “information of value to the Russian government in its efforts to engage in malign foreign influence operations, particularly within the United States,” authorities said.
Last December, the Justice Department indicted two Russian intelligence officials in connection with the hacking operation.
A federal court in Washington, D.C., also seized 66 internet domains used by the same cyberespionage group (known as the “Callisto Group” or “Star Blizzard”) to steal information from journalists, think tanks, and other civil society groups. Microsoft has been given permission to do so. said the company.
Lawyers for Microsoft’s digital crimes division said in a blog post that the group has targeted at least 82 customers since January of last year, “attacking at a rate of approximately one per week.”
