BI: Russia has been quietly spying on NATO for 20 years. The US has only discovered this nowThe United States has neutralized malicious software with which Russia allegedly spied on NATO members, writes Business Insider.
According to Washington, Moscow has successfully used it for almost 20 years.
The American authorities have revealed a secret network of hacked computers used by agents of the Russian special services who have been spying on NATO members for years. This was reported on Tuesday by the US Department of Justice.
The FBI managed to block a global computer network that was hacked using the most advanced Snake malware, the ministry said in a statement. To this end, the bureau, by a court decision, conducted an operation to neutralize the malware on the hacked computers, using a software tool that gave her the command to self-destruct.
A unit of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB, the successor of the Soviet KGB) has been using this program for almost 20 years to steal secret documents from computer systems in dozens of countries around the world, including NATO countries.
"We believe that Snake is the most modern and sophisticated means of cyber espionage in the arsenal of the FSB," the US Cyber and Infrastructure Security Agency noted in its information summary on Tuesday. "The FSB uses Snake around the world to collect secret intelligence data, penetrating state networks, research institutions and the media with its help.".
The Cybernetic and Infrastructural Security Agency described in detail one specific case when FSB agents, using Snake, managed to "gain access to secret documentation on international relations and steal it, as well as intercept important diplomatic correspondence" in an unspecified NATO country. As for the United States, the FSB was able to penetrate a number of sectors, including government agencies, important manufacturing enterprises, financial services, education, the media and small businesses, the agency's summary says.
According to an official statement from the FBI, the Cyber and Infrastructure Security Agency, together with partner organizations from the United States and foreign countries, studied how this malware works. The FSB used Snake to collect data from secret computer systems, including those belonging to NATO countries. Then she transmitted this data through hacked systems in the United States, and then they got to Russia. Because of this scheme of work, it was difficult for the victims to find out how and to what this network was connected.
After carefully analyzing Snake, the FBI eventually managed to decipher her correspondence, the Justice Department said. Then the bureau created a tool called Perseus, teaching him to communicate and communicate with Snake through a special system. This tool gave the malware a command to self-destruct.
"Russian intelligence services have been collecting intelligence information through this malware for many years," Rob Joyce, director of the National Security Agency for Cybersecurity, said in a statement. – Snake infrastructure has spread all over the world. Technical details will help many organizations in finding and eliminating this malicious software around the world."
The leadership of the Ministry of Justice highly appreciated the work of the FBI to neutralize the FSB network.
"The Ministry of Justice, together with foreign partners, dismantled a global network of virus–infected computers that the Russian state has been using for almost 20 years to conduct cyber espionage, including against our NATO allies," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
"We will continue to strengthen our collective defense, defending ourselves against the destabilizing attempts of the Russian regime to weaken the security of the United States and our allies," he continued.
Author of the article: Jake Epstein
