The Justice Department announced on Tuesday that officials, along with international authorities have been able to disrupt sophisticated malware that Russia has been using to steal secrets for more than 20 years.
The ":Snake" malware has been used by Russian intelligence to swipe sensitive data from U.S. and NATO government agencies, foreign ministries, defense companies, high-tech research facilities, and media outlets, Politico reported, attributing the information to a senior FBI official.
"This is what we assess to be the most sophisticated malware deployed by the FSB [the modern-day equivalent to the KGB] when it comes to espionage campaigns," the FBI official said.
And, in a statement the Justice Department said: "The Justice Department today announced the completion of a court-authorized operation, codenamed MEDUSA, to disrupt a global peer-to-peer network of computers compromised by sophisticated malware, called 'Snake', that the United States Government attributes to a unit within Center 16 of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation [FSB].
"For nearly 20 years, this unit, referred to in court documents as 'Turla,' has used versions of the Snake malware to steal sensitive documents from hundreds of computer systems in at least 50 countries, which have belonged to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member governments, journalists, and other targets of interest to the Russian Federation. After stealing these documents, Turla exfiltrated them through a covert network of unwitting Snake-compromised computers in the United States and around the world.
"Operation MEDUSA disabled Turla's Snake malware on compromised computers through the use of an FBI-created tool named PERSEUS, which issued commands that caused the Snake malware to overwrite its own vital components. Within the United States, the operation was executed by the FBI pursuant to a search warrant issued by United States Magistrate Judge Cheryl L. Pollak of the Eastern District of New York, which authorized remote access to the compromised computers.
"This morning, the court unsealed redacted versions of the affidavit submitted in support of the application for the search warrant, and of the search warrant issued by the court. For victims outside the United States, the FBI is engaging with local authorities to provide both notice of Snake infections within those authorities' countries and remediation guidance."
Politico, citing information from the court documents unsealed Tuesday, said the Snake malware had escaped detection from U.S. authorities through the use of a "sophisticated" evasion technique that allowed Russians to send surreptitious communications with other compromised devices.
"The Justice Department, together with our international partners, has dismantled a global network of malware-infected computers that the Russian government has used for nearly two decades to conduct cyber-espionage, including against our NATO allies," said Attorney General Merrick Garland. "We will continue to strengthen our collective defenses against the Russian regime's destabilizing efforts to undermine the security of the United States and our allies."
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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