A grand jury in the US state of Maryland has indicted six Russians, five of whom are officers of the Russian Military Intelligence Directorate (GRU), for conspiracy to hack computer systems and conspiracy to commit fraud. This was reported on the website of the US Department of Justice, UNN reports.
Details
The indictment, unveiled on September 5, alleges that the Russians conspired to hack into computer systems related to the Ukrainian government in advance of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Their targets initially included Ukrainian government systems and data without military or defense significance, and later expanded to computer systems in countries around the world that supported Ukraine, including the United States, according to a press release from the US Department of Justice. The attacks reportedly targeted 25 other NATO countries in addition to the United States.
The whereabouts of these individuals are unknown, and the Ministry of Justice has announced a reward for information leading to their arrest.