Two former SBU officials in Crimea are sentenced to 15 years for cyberattacks on Ukrainian government agencies
Kyiv • UNN
Two former SBU officials in Crimea have been convicted of high treason and cyberattacks on Ukraine. They unauthorizedly interfered with the operation of personal computers and automated systems of Ukrainian government agencies.
Two former officials of the SBU in Crimea, current employees of the Russian Federal Security Service, were sentenced to 15 years in prison. They were members of a hacker group that attacked Ukraine's critical infrastructure from 2014 to 2021. This was reported by the Prosecutor General's Office, UNN reports.
Following a public prosecution by the Prosecutor General's Office, two former officials of the SBU Main Directorate in the AR of Crimea, now employees of the Russian Federal Security Service, were found guilty of high treason and unauthorized interference with electronic computers and automated systems (part 1 of Article 111, part 2 of Article 361 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). They were sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison
In court, prosecutors proved that in 2014, the convicts betrayed their oath of allegiance and sided with Russia during the armed conflict. They joined the FSB and assisted the Russian special services in conducting subversive activities against Ukraine, and also joined the Armageddon hacker group.
From March 2014 to March 2021, the hacker group conducted cyber reconnaissance and cyber attacks to create hidden technical channels for information leakage, collect confidential information, steal access identifiers and personal data, primarily of law enforcement officers and military units. Also, cyberattacks were reportedly carried out to block the work of state and corporate electronic resources of Ukraine, to conduct cyber actions in the interests of special and intelligence agencies of the Russian Federation.
From January 2020 to March 2021, the convicts, together with other members of the criminal hacker group Armageddon, attacked critical information infrastructure facilities of institutions that ensure the proper functioning of Ukraine's economic and law enforcement systems, as well as its defense capabilities.
The convicts unauthorizedly interfered with the operation of personal computers and automated systems of Ukrainian state authorities. This led to the leakage and blocking of information, distortion of the information processing process and violation of the established procedure for its routing in the interests of the Russian special services
The court's verdict has now entered into force.
