After its spectacular successes with Brexit and with getting Trump into the White House in 2016, you didn’t think for a moment that the Kremlin has given up interfering with Western elections, just because they failed in 2020, did you? Last week two Russians, FSB agent Ruslan Aleksandrovich Peretyatko and Andrey Stanislavovich Korinets were charged with attempting to hack the computers of U.S. government employees— and officials all over the world— to steal documents to interfere with elections— in this particular case, the 2019 British elections.
A San Francisco grand jury charged them with coordinating the “Callisto Group,” a phishing operation targeting military and government officials, think-tank employees, journalists, etc.
Last week, the BBC reported that “The group is accused of carrying out hundreds of highly targeted hacks against politicians, civil servants, those working for think-tanks, journalists, academics and others in public life. These mainly targeted the private emails of individuals following extensive research and the creation of false accounts impersonating their trusted contacts. Amongst those targeted was an MP who told the BBC in February his emails had been stolen… The group linked to the FSB— and specifically the part of it known as Centre 18— has been targeting the UK by stealing information from those in political and public life since at least 2015, it is believed.
It is claimed the group remains active. Thursday's public accusation is aimed at disrupting the group's work and increasing awareness ahead of major elections around the world next year.
The Department of Justice noted that “The Russian government continues to target the critical networks of the United States and our partners, as highlighted by the indictment unsealed today,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Through this malign influence activity directed at the democratic processes of the United Kingdom, Russia again demonstrates its commitment to using weaponized campaigns of cyber espionage against such networks in unacceptable ways. The Department of Justice will respond to such behavior with an even more determined commitment to disrupt those activities and to hold accountable the individuals responsible.
“Today’s indictment is part of a coordinated international response to send a message to the conspirators that the whole of the United States government stands together and with our partners internationally to identify and disrupt cyber espionage actors, particularly those seeking to obtain government information and attempting to create chaos in democratic processes,” said U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey for the Northern District of California. “We are grateful to all of our partners for their assistance in addressing these threats posed by the FSB’s action in the Northern District of California, across the United States and around the world.”
“The FBI will not stand idly by as Russia continues to perpetuate this type of targeted malicious activity,” said Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran of the FBI’s Cyber Division. “Russian interference through malign foreign influence campaigns is deplorable, and we will not tolerate it in the United States or directed against our foreign partners. The FBI is dedicated to combating this pervasive threat and will tirelessly seek to prevent and disrupt these criminal acts carried out by Russia.”
…[T]he conspirators used “spoofed” email accounts designed to look like personal and work-related email accounts of the group’s targets. The conspirators allegedly also sent sophisticated looking emails that appeared to be from email providers suggesting users had violated terms of service. These messages were designed to trick victims into providing their email account credentials to false login prompts. Once the conspirators fraudulently obtained the victim’s credentials, they were able to use those credentials to access the victims’ email accounts at will.
Meanwhile, 1 in 5 young American (18-29) think the Holocaust was a myth, a testament to the quality of American education (including home-schooling), how young American access information and rising anti-Semitism.
“The FBI will not stand idly by as Russia continues to perpetuate this type of targeted malicious activity,”
Well, they been doin it for almost 6 years now. If you ain't "standin idly by", you sure as hell ain't doin any good!
Also ain't doin "merrick garland" about the billion they've laundered to the nazis through the NRA since at least 2015. I wonder how long they been doin that and how much the total is up to now. wouldn't be a bit surprised it it's 30 years and 3 bil. but who would know since you ain't doin nuthing about it. Don't matter which party has its plackard on the oval.