A group of cyberattackers generally regarded as an online arm of Islamic State terrorists are actually associated with Russian military intelligence agents, according to British officials.
“This pattern of behavior demonstrates their desire to operate without regard to international law or established norms and to do so with a feeling of impunity and without consequences,” British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said in a rebuke accompanying the announcement.
Hunt’s team included the “Cyber Caliphate” among a list of a dozen cyber groups responsible for high profile attacks — each an alias of the Russia’s GRU, according to the United Kingdom.
The release echoed U.S. assessments that Russian spies are associated with a group called Fancy Bear that carried out the 2016 hacks of the Democratic National Committee, for instance. They also blamed Russia for cyberattacks against Ukraine in 2017, and the World Anti-Doping Agency, which supported the ban of Russian athletes from the 2018 Winter Olympics.
“These cyber attacks serve no legitimate national security interest, instead impacting the ability of people around the world to go about their daily lives free from interference, and even their ability to enjoy sport,” Hunt said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s team denounced both the election interference accusations and the charge of state-sponsored doping for Olympic athletes as Western smear campaigns.
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UK: Islamic State linked cyberattackers actually associated with Russian military intelligence agents https://t.co/nPzp24nc7J
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) October 4, 2018
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