Britain and Australia accuse Russia of carrying out a series of cyber attacks

News24xx.com -  Britain and Australia accuse Russian intelligence agencies of carrying out "careless and reckless" attacks on global cyber networks. The targets vary, ranging from the transportation sector to the US presidential election.

Britain states that the Russian military intelligence agency GRU is "almost certain" behind the online attack operations that target political, business, media and sports agencies around the world.

Britain, among others, said Moscow was involved in the attack on the BadRabbit 2017 ransomware which targeted the airport in Odessa and the Kiev subway system, Ukraine; and foreign media offices in Russia. The GRU also seeks to hack the communication network of the World Anti-Doping Agency in Switzerland in 2017.

Other cyber attacks included the hacking of the Democratic National Committee in the US in 2016 ahead of the presidential election and the theft of email addresses from offices in Moscow owned by a TV station based in the UK in 2015.

The British Cyber Security Center NCSC also identified many groups of hackers, including APT28, Pawn Storm, Sandworm, Fancy Bear, and the Sofacy Group, which are linked to the Russian intelligence service GRU.

Evil activities in cyberspace
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the intelligence service in Canberra also found evidence of "evil cyber activity" designed by Moscow.

"The Russian military, and their intelligence arm 'GRU', are responsible for this pattern of malicious cyber activity," the government said in a statement. "Cyberspace is not the Wild West world. The international community - including Russia - has agreed that international law and behavioral norms apply in cyberspace and countries have responsibilities."

"This (Russian) behavior pattern shows their desire to operate without regard to international law or established norms, and they do so with a spirit of impunity and without consequences," British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt said on Thursday (4/10) in a statement.

Last September, the UK also said that GRU agents were behind Novichok's nerve poison attack on former Russian rear viewer Sergei Skripal and his daughter who now lives in the UK. London also released photographs of two Russians suspected of carrying out the attack. But Russia has denied involvement in Novichok's attack on Skripal and his daughter.