The British government announced on Thursday that it had discovered attempts by Russian secret services to interfere in British politics. when obtaining information from representatives, journalists, civil servants or civil society organizations since 2015.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has designated Center 18, a unit of the Russian secret service, the FSB, as responsible for a series of cyber espionage operations.
The activity was, he specified, carried out by Star Blizzard, a group that the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) “regards as almost certainly subordinate to the FSB’s Center 18.”
“While some attacks have resulted in the leaking of documents, attempts to interfere with British politics and democracy have not been successful,” the British government guarantees.
Among the attacks discovered are “spear phishing” (attempts to gain sensitive information or access to a computer system by sending fake messages that appear legitimate) to parliamentarians from various political parties, at least from 2015 to this year.
The hacking of UK-US trade documents released before the 2019 general election by then Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and the 2018 attack on the Institute for Statecraft, a British campaign think tank for defending democracy against disinformation.
The Star Blizzard group also “selectively disclosed and amplified the dissemination of information in line with Russia’s confrontational objectives of undermining trust in politics in the United Kingdom and similar states,” the ministry statement said of Foreign Affairs.
The victims include universities, journalists, government agencies, non-governmental organizations and other civil society institutions, several of which the government says play a role in the country’s democracy.
In a statement made in Parliament today, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Leo Docherty said those responsible began conducting investigations into the targets, including on social media, and then created fake accounts to make apparently legitimate contact and send a message. to steer. ‘link’ for interesting documents or ‘sites’ that allowed access to the information system.
Following an investigation by the National Crime Agency, the United Kingdom has sanctioned two members of Star Blizzard for their involvement in the preparation of ‘spear-phishing’ campaigns and related activities that resulted in the unauthorized access and extraction of sensitive data.
The individuals are Ruslan Aleksandrovich Peretyatko and Andrey Stanislavovich Korinets, also known as Alexey Doguzhiev, who are now subject to sanctions.
The Foreign Office also called on the Russian ambassador to “express his deep concern about Russia’s continued attempts to use cyberspace to interfere in political and democratic processes in the United Kingdom and abroad.”
Leo Docherty stressed that attempts at interference have not been successful, but that it is likely that Russia and other countries will continue to try to use cyber means to interfere in British politics.
Foreign Secretary David Cameron declared that “Russia’s attempts to interfere in British politics are completely unacceptable”, while Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden warned of the ongoing threat.
“The internet is the new frontline. We are taking a whole-of-society strategy to ensure we have the robust systems and advanced skills needed to resist these attempts to undermine our democracy,” said Dowden.
Source: DN
