US charges Russian over Ukraine hack, offers $13.5 million reward for info

WASHINGTON - A Russian was charged with conspiring to hack and destroy computer systems and data in Ukraine and allied countries including the US, the US Justice Department said on June 26, and announced a US$10 million (S$13.5 million) reward for information.

A federal grand jury in Maryland returned an indictment against Amin Timovich Stigal, 22, on June 25, the department said in a statement.

Before the

Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022,

the hacking targets included Kyiv’s government systems and data with no military-related role, the department said. Computer systems in the US and other countries that provided support to Ukraine were targeted later, it said.

Stigal remains at large. The US State Department is offering up to US$10 million for information on his location or malicious cyber activity, the statement said.

“As alleged, the defendant conspired with Russian military intelligence on the eve of Russia’s unjust and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine to launch cyber attacks targeting the Ukrainian government and later targeting its allies, including the United States,” Attorney-General Merrick Garland said in the statement.

In January 2022, Stigal and members of Russia’s intelligence service conspired to use a US-based company to distribute malware known as WisperGate to Ukrainian government computer systems to destroy the systems and related data, the Justice Department said.

That August, the same group hacked the transportation infrastructure of an unidentified central European country that was supporting Ukraine, it said.

The hackers also probed the computers of a federal government agency in Maryland, the statement said, without identifying the agency. REUTERS