BALTIMORE — The US Justice Department has expanded charges against Russia in connection with the so-called “WhisperGate” malware attack, which aimed to destroy computer systems in Ukraine and 26 NATO allies, including the United States.
A new indictment announced Thursday names five Russian military intelligence officers in a conspiracy to demoralize the Ukrainian people on the eve of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
A federal official said the January 2022 malware attack “WhisperGate” could be seen as Russia’s first shot in the war. The cyberattacks penetrated U.S. companies and targeted Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and non-defense computer systems, including the judiciary, emergency services, food safety and education, they said.
“To undermine the morale of the Ukrainian public, the defendants also stole and leaked the personal information of thousands of Ukrainian citizens, including by offering patients’ medical information and other sensitive private data for sale online and then mocking the victims,” said Matthew Olsen, assistant attorney general for national security.
The attacks were not limited to Ukraine, Olsen said during a news conference in Baltimore with Maryland U.S. Attorney Erek Barron.
“They targeted computers around the world and used the computer infrastructure of an unwitting American company to carry out the WhisperGate attacks,” Olsen said. “They went on to attack computer systems in other countries that supported Ukraine in its fight for survival. Ultimately, their targets were computer systems in 26 NATO partners, including the United States.”
A federal grand jury in Baltimore has indicted military intelligence officers Vladislav Borovkov, Denis Denisenko, Yury Denisov, Dmitry Goloshubov and Nikolai Korchagin, along with Amin Timovich Stigal, a 22-year-old Russian citizen who was indicted in June. The jury accuses them of conspiring to gain unauthorized access to computers connected to the governments of Ukraine and its allies. Together, the U.S. government is offering $60 million in rewards for help in leading the defendants to their locations or malicious cyber activity.
“This type of cyber warfare will not be tolerated. The magnitude of Russia’s crimes cannot be ignored,” said William J. DelBagno, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Baltimore field office.
