For 20 years, hundreds of computer systems in at least 50 countries have been attacked. Austria was also a target of the “Turla” hacker group.
The US Department of Justice says it has broken up a Russian cyber-espionage operation that has been stealing sensitive data from computers in the US and other NATO countries for years. The hackers used different versions of the “Snake” malware, which the investigators attribute to a unit of the Russian domestic secret service FSB called “Turla”. Hundreds of computer systems in at least 50 countries have been attacked in this way over a period of 20 years. The Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs was also a target.
In cooperation with several foreign governments, the US federal police FBI and the US public prosecutor’s office in a counter-operation codenamed “Medusa” succeeded in neutralizing this software that had been smuggled into computer networks, according to a statement by the US government on Tuesday (local time). ministry. A program (“Perseus”) developed by the FBI was used for this purpose. This caused the “Snake” malware to overwrite and thus deactivate itself.
Unit “Turla” run renewed malware
“For 20 years, the FSB has relied on ‘Snake’ malware to conduct cyber espionage against the United States and our allies – today it ends,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen, chief of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division. “We will continue to step up our collective defenses against the Russian regime’s destabilizing efforts to undermine the security of the United States and our allies,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland.
US authorities have been investigating the “Snake” software and related programs for almost 20 years, the statement said. The US government observed FSB officers from the “Turla” unit in Russia. They have repeatedly renewed and revised the malicious program to ensure that it remains their most sophisticated hacking software. For victims of the attacks outside the US, the FBI is working with local authorities to notify them of “Snake” infections in their countries.
(APA/dpa)