The Department of Justice, moments ago, has announced they are charging six Russian military intelligence officers with seeking to disrupt the French election, as well as numerous US businesses and the Winter Olympics.

In their indictment unsealed today, prosecutors accused the six hackers with some of the “most disruptive and destructive” cyber hacking in history.
Western Pennsylvania hospitals and health care systems placed Americans at great health risk as computer technologies were cut out or distorted.
Hundreds of citizens and businesses were impacted in Pennsylvania.

The team used systems to disrupt the power supply during the winter of 2015-16 leaving hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians without heat and lighting.
The hackers also sought to knock out internet connection during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics in South Korea. Much of the Olympics’ systems were knocked out in retaliation for catching Russians in a “doping scheme” during the events.
DOJ speakers at this news conference indicate the Russian hacking team attempted to place the blame of the Olympic disruptions on North Korea.
They were also charged with hacking effort against French President Emanuel Macron throughout the 2017 election.
In a statement, the Justice Department’s Assistant Attorney General John Demers said: “No country has weaponized its cyber capabilities as maliciously or irresponsibly as Russia, wantonly causing unprecedented damage to pursue small tactical advantages and to satisfy fits of spite.”



