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The FBI operation, code-named “Medusa,” targeted malware used by Moscow’s Federal Security Service (FSB), which was used to target numerous U.S. and foreign government agencies, critical infrastructure entities, and private sector organizations. The virus was employed to target these businesses, steal confidential information, and seriously harm computer networks.
The virus in question, according to the DOJ, was a nearly 20-year-old program named “Snake,” which was run by Turla, a division of the FSB notorious for carrying out some of Russia’s most comprehensive cyberespionage operations. Since at least the 1990s, Turla has been functioning, concentrating on targets in the military, the government, and the defense industry.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) describes Snake as a “global peer-to-peer network of computers compromised by sophisticated malware” that has been used to steal private information from hundreds of computer systems in at least 50 different nations.
According to the DOJ declaration, the FBI collaborated with a number of cooperating victim organizations to learn more about Snake, but in at least two instances, entities that were identified to have Snake infections either failed to cooperate totally or partially with the FBI’s inquiry.
Preventing Cyber Crimes
The Eastern District of New York’s U.S. Attorney, Breon Peace, commended the operation’s accomplishments:
“In a cunning attempt to cover up their crimes, Russia utilized sophisticated malware to steal critical information from our partners and then laundered it through a network of compromised computers in the US. Cyber Espionage is a challenge that needs innovation and a readiness to employ all legal measures to defend our country and our friends.
My Office and our allies are committed to using all of the resources at our disposal to safeguard the American people, as evidenced by the court-authorized remote search and remediation disclosed today.
“In an elaborate scheme to cover up their crimes, Russia utilized sophisticated malware to steal critical information from our partners and then laundered it through a network of compromised computers in the US. Cyber Espionage is a challenge that needs innovation and a readiness to employ all legal measures to defend our country and our friends.
My Office and our allies are committed to using all of the resources at our disposal to safeguard the American people, as evidenced by the court-authorized remote search and remediation disclosed today.