At the request of the United States: Russian secret service hacks hacker network

Friday, January 14, 2022

At the request of the United States
The Russian secret service hacked the hacker network

The Russian secret service says the popular hacker group Revel has been destroyed under US pressure. At the same time, however, Kiev blames Moscow for the cyber attack on its own government websites this morning.

Russia says it has blamed members of the notorious hacker group Revilin in the wake of massive cyber attacks on Western companies and organizations. The FSB said their infrastructure had been dismantled. The reason for the investigation is the request of the US authorities.

According to security experts, Revil had specialized in spreading what is known as ransomware. Ransomware is malware that encrypts the victim’s data after a successful attack. Criminals then demand ransom money for encryption, often in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. A search of the members’ 14 residences turned up 426 million rubles, equivalent to 4.8 million euros – in some cryptocurrencies. Also, US $ 600,000 and 500 500,000 in cash and computer equipment and 20 high-end cars were seized.

In November, international investigators arrested several hackers responsible for thousands of cyber attacks on companies and institutions. For example, with the Revil software, many of JBS’s factories, the world’s largest meat company, were shut down. The group is suspected of being behind a major attack on Casey, an American IT service provider, last summer.

Kiev: Cyber ​​attacks came from Russia

Meanwhile, Ukraine has blamed Russia for the largest hacking attack on government websites. “According to first data,” the attacks came from Russia, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy announced this afternoon in the capital Kiev. For example, there were early signs of attacks in the Russian media even before the attack in Ukraine.

Ministry experts speculated that the attacks were linked to “Russia’s recent failure to negotiate Ukraine’s future cooperation with NATO.”

In the morning, several ministries reported cyber-attacks on their homepages. The official website of the government and the homepage of the Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Civil Defense have also been affected. It said the attack was widespread. A team specializing in cyber attacks has launched an investigation.