Russia arrests hacker accused of preventing electronic voting during local election The Record from Recorded Future News

pppLeadershipppCybercrimeppNationstateppElectionsppTechnologyppCyber DailyppClick Here Podcastpp Free Newsletterpp Russias Federal Security Service FSB announced that it had detained a Moscow resident for conducting distributed denialofservice DDoS attacks during local elections in September targeting infrastructure in the capital and the Moscow region pp According to the agencys press service the 61yearold suspect used Ukrainemade software to carry out the DDoS attacks on Russias critical information infrastructure His activity coincided with the regional parliamentary and municipal elections pp The FSB reported that the hacker had installed Ukrainian software on his personal device and attacked among others the IP addresses of an internet provider in the Moscow region The attack disrupted the providers systems preventing the company from providing internet access to customers and hindering voters from participating in remote electronic voting the agency said pp Russian law enforcement said they are currently working to identify the suspects accomplices If convicted he could face up to five years in prison or be sentenced to forced labor according to Russias criminal code pp The FSB has not disclosed which Ukrainian software the suspect used or whether he was affiliated with any hacker group Since Russias invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago many proUkraine hackers have developed their own DDoS toolkits which they offer for free to anyone willing to target Russia The attacks work by flooding targeted systems with junk traffic to make them temporarily unreachable pp Along with the software these hackers often provide detailed instructions or even video lessons making it easy for people without coding skills to join the digital fight pp Although its unclear if the suspect has ties to Ukraine it would not be the first time Russia has prosecuted its own citizens for aiding that country In August the FSB opened a criminal case against a Moscowbased scientist accused of carrying out DDoS attacks on behalf of Ukraines intelligence agency He was charged with treason and faces the possibility of a life sentence if convicted pp Last October Russian law enforcement arrested a local tech student who allegedly assisted the Ukrainian hacker group known as the Cyber Anarchy Squad in launching cyberattacks against Russia pp In February a 49yearold Russian national was charged with launching a cyberattack on a local power plant causing a blackout in dozens of settlements Last year three residents of RostovonDon were sentenced to prison or fined for carrying out DDoS attacks against Russian websites pp Ukraine is also prosecuting individuals accused of aiding Russia However most Ukrainian reports focus on local citizens suspected of spreading Russian disinformation or helping the Russian military locate Ukrainian forces and assess damage to critical infrastructure caused by missile strikes ppDaryna Antoniukppis a reporter for Recorded Future News based in Ukraine She writes about cybersecurity startups cyberattacks in Eastern Europe and the state of the cyberwar between Ukraine and Russia She previously was a tech reporter for Forbes Ukraine Her work has also been published at Sifted The Kyiv Independent and The Kyiv PostppPrivacyppAboutppContact Uspp Copyright 2024 The Record from Recorded Future Newsp