According to US officials, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has installed “Snake” or “Europoros” software on computers around the world, focusing on government networks, research facilities, journalists and d other targets.
The Justice Department said the FBI, in a year-long operation, neutralized the software by tampering with its code.
“Thanks to a high-tech operation that tricked Russian malware into attacking itself, US law enforcement authorities have neutralized one of Russia’s most sophisticated cyber-espionage tools, used for two decades to advance Russia’s authoritarian goals,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement. .
The software has been known to computer security experts for at least a decade, and the US Cybersecurity Agency (Sisa) said Russian intelligence services began developing it in 2003.
The agency described the software as “the most sophisticated cyber-espionage tool in the FSB’s arsenal”, noting that it was difficult to detect.
It was also designed to be easy to update and modify, but “it contained some flaws given its complexity”, according to Sessa.
US officials say this allowed Russian intelligence to use the software undetected for years.
In at least one case, SISA said, Snake software was implanted in the systems of an unnamed NATO member state, allowing Russian intelligence services to access documents sensitive to international relations and diplomatic communications.
“The effectiveness of this type of electronic espionage depends entirely on long-term concealment,” the agency added.
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