Britain imposes sanctions against Russian military intelligence and its spies

The UK has imposed sanctions on three units of Russiaʼs GRU and 18 Russian military personnel and agents, and revealed that Russian military intelligence used malware to spy on email accounts linked to Britain and its allies.

This was reported by the press service of the British National Cyber Security Center.

A hacking group known as APT28 is responsible for distributing sophisticated malware called AUTHENTIC ANTICS, which targets email users. The software steals victimsʼ authentication credentials to gain permanent access to their email accounts.

As previously established, APT28 is part of the 85th Main Center of Special Services of the Russian GRU, military unit No. 26165.

The new British sanctions cover three GRU units — No. 26165, No. 29155 and No. 74455 — and 18 agents involved in cyber operations in the interests of Russia. A strategic defense review from the British National Cyber Security Center identifies Russia as the most acute threat.

Analysis of the AUTHENTIC ANTICS malware showed that it was specifically created to gain long-term access to Microsoft cloud accounts by simulating normal activity.

• The Russian hacking group APT28 has been operating around the world since at least 2004. In April, France accused them of cyberattacks — including during Macronʼs presidential campaign.

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