Russian hackers charged with attacking Olympics, U.S. hospitals

The U.S. Department of Justice plays the long game. 

That much was made clear Monday as the DOJ announced charges against six Russian military officers accused of launching a string of damaging cyberattacks dating back to 2015. The men, all members of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), are allegedly behind the notoriously destructive NotPetya and Olympic Destroyer malware (among others). 

NotPetya, disguised as ransomware, is a type of malware that appeared to intentionally damage victims' computer systems. Unlike typical ransomware, which encrypts users' files and demands payment to unlock them, NotPetya seemed designed to destroy what it touched. The Olympic Destroyer malware, for its part, targeted the 2018 Winter Olympics, and security experts at the time described its goal as one of "embarrassment." Read more...