The United States and the United Kingdom on Thursday jointly sanctioned seven Russian government-linked hackers who were linked to ransomware attacks against critical infrastructure in the U.S., U.K. and Ukraine.
The sanctions are the latest commitments by Western nations to crack down on Russian hacking operations, which have surged in the past year as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and heightened tensions with the West.
Cyber Warfare used as a political weapon: In addition, Trickbot was linked by IBM last year to cyberattacks in 2022 tied to the war aimed at both the Ukrainian government and private sector groups and, according to the Treasury Department, have also allegedly targeted the U.S. government and U.S. companies.
“The United States and the U.K. are leaders in the global fight against cybercrime and are committed to using all available tools to defend against cyber threats,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Thursday. “As Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine continues, cooperation with our allies and partners is more critical than ever to protect our national security.”
Russian Cyber crimes against the united Kingdom British is becoming is a National security concern
The U.K.’s National Crime Agency identified almost 150 British victims of ransomware linked to Russian cybercriminal groups. And the action taken Thursday is part of an effort to shut down ransomware attacks aimed at the U.K., which are classified there as a “tier 1 national security threat.”
On Thursday London time British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly announced in a statement that “by sanctioning these cyber criminals, we are sending a clear signal to them and others involved in ransomware that they will be held to account.”
Past disruption efforts have shown little impact on cyber criminal activity. This was demonstrated when Cyber criminal group Trickbot, continued their activities despite Microsoft taking action in 2020 ahead of the U.S. presidential election to disrupt the group through actions including suspending IP addresses. Whether the new sanctions will be able to permanently damage the group remains unclear.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement Thursday that “by sanctioning these cyber criminals, we are sending a clear signal to them and others involved in ransomware that they will be held to account.”
