6 Russian Hackers Indicted for Offensive Cyber Campaigns Including 2017 NotPetya Wiper Attacks
HIPAA Journal
Steve Alder
The U.S. Department of Justice has announced 6 Russian hackers have been indicted for their role in the 2017 NotPetya malware attacks and a long list of offensive cyber campaigns on multiple targets in the United States and other countries.
The six individuals are suspected members of the GRU: Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate, specifically GRU Unit 74455, which is also known as Sandworm. The Sandworm unit is believed to be behind a long list of offensive cyber campaigns spanning several years.
Sandworm is suspected of being instrumental in attempts to influence foreign elections, including the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the 2017 French Presidential election. One of the most destructive offensive campaigns involved the use of NotPetya malware in 2017. NotPetya was a wiper malware used in destructive attacks worldwide that leveraged the Microsoft Windows Server Message Block (SMBv1) vulnerability.
Several hospitals and medical clinics were...