A jury in the state of Maryland in absentia has indicted 22-year-old Russian Amin Stigalu in cyber attacks on government institutions of Ukraine and its allies.
This is reported by the US Ministry of Justice.
According to court documents, Stigall conspired with Russian military intelligence a month before the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
They attacked the websites of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, the Ministry of Energy, the Accounting Chamber, the State Emergency Service and other institutions.
Computers in these departments were infected with malware called WhisperGate, which pretended to be ransomware. In fact, it was intended to completely destroy all data on computers.
The attackers also stole confidential data, including patient medical records, and put them up for sale.
On some hacked sites, hackers posted an announcement: "Ukrainians! All information about you has become public, be afraid and expect the worst. This is for your past, present and future."
And in August 2022, attackers also attacked the transport infrastructure of a Central European country that supported Ukraine. The US Ministry of Justice did not specify which country it was about.
Stigalu faces up to five years in prison. A reward of $10 million has been announced for information on his whereabouts.