Ukrainian Security Service shuts down the operation of the office of ‘pro-Kremlin hackers’ in Kyiv
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claims to have unmasked the activities of the office of "pro-Kremlin hackers" in Kyiv.
The SBU press center says that "the hacker group controlled by the FSB of Russia organized cyberattacks, in particular against critical infrastructure facilities, state, and bank institutions."
According to the department, the persons involved in the case used internet anonymizers to prevent the identification of the attacks, and used so-called "bot farms" to conduct special information operations against Ukraine.
During searches at the office and at residences of the participants of the group, law enforcement officers discovered software and hardware systems, server equipment, computer equipment, and more than 50,000 mobile operator cards from different countries, the Security Service stated.
The pre-trial investigation as part of the criminal proceedings under section 361 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (unauthorized interference into the functioning of computers, automated systems, computer networks or telecommunication networks) continues.
The Russians have not commented on this statement by the SBU.
Last summer, several hacker attacks were conducted in Ukraine. In particular, in June there was a cyberattack using a virus called Petya.A, and later with a virus called NotPetya.
In February of this year, the White House accused the Russian military of carrying out the largest cyberattack in history with the use of the NotPetya virus in June 2017. However, Moscow calls the accusations of its involvement in this cyberattack as "unproven and groundless."