Justice Department Announces Indictment of Two Russian Intelligence Officers for Hacking U.S. and British Government Agencies

The Justice Department has announced the indictment of two Russian intelligence officers in connection with a broad campaign to hack into U.S. and British government agencies. The two officers, Ruslan Aleksandrovich Peretyatko and Andrey Stanislavovich Korinets, are part of an organization known as the Callisto Group.

According to the Justice Department, the two officers used spoof email accounts that appeared to be from legitimate sources to target current and former employees of the U.S. intelligence community, defense contractors and Energy Department facilities. The hacking campaign is believed to have started in October 2016 and continued until October 2022.

The Justice Department alleges that the Russian hackers conducted a sophisticated cyber campaign against American intelligence officials, including contractors at the State and Defense Departments, as well as NATO members and Ukraine. The goal of the campaign was to gather intelligence in the two countries and to influence British politics.

Senior FBI and Justice Department officials have sought to differentiate the alleged Russian hacking operation in the United States from similar efforts by U.S. agencies to collect information in other countries through cyber intrusions.

The Justice Department is now seeking to extradite the two accused officers from Russia. If convicted, they could face up to 20 years in prison. The Justice Department is also seeking to seize any assets the two officers may have in the United States.