WASHINGTON: The FBI has sabotaged a suite of malicious software used by elite Russian spies, U.S. authorities said on Tuesday, providing a glimpse of the digital tug-of-war between two cyber superpowers.
Senior law enforcement officials said FBI technical experts had identified and disabled malware wielded by Russia’s FSB security service against an undisclosed number of American computers, a move they hoped would deal a death blow to one of Russia’s leading cyber spying programs.
“We assess this as being their premier espionage tool,” one of the U.S. officials told journalists ahead of the release. He said Washington hoped the operation would “eradicate it from the virtual battlefield.” The official said the FSB spies behind the malware, known as Snake, are part of a notorious hacking group tracked by the private sector and known as “Turla.” –Agencies
