- New sanctions target the Russian state’s persistent and increasingly reckless attempts to sow chaos and division across Europe.
- UK and EU hit back with first joint cyber sanctions package, as they attribute Russia’s cyber-attack on Poland.
- UK sanctions and exposes Russian state and cybercriminal proxies carrying out malicious attacks across Europe and sanctions those deliberately spreading deceptive anti-Ukraine narratives.
The Russian state and its criminal networks responsible for orchestrating cyber-attacks, interfering in elections and spreading malicious anti-Ukraine narratives across Europe have today been sanctioned by the UK.
Today’s action targets 24 individuals and entities behind the destructive cyber and hybrid operations including cybercriminals involved in proxy networks linked to the Russian Intelligence Services (RIS).
This includes sanctioning GRU senior leadership figures Vyacheslav Stafeyev, Ivan Senin and Ivan Kasyanenko for their role in directing GRU cyber and hybrid threat operations. GRU Unit 29155 cyber division worked with cybercriminals, including the company IMPULS, to recruit hackers and cyber specialists from universities and academies across Russia.
In addition, the UK together with EU member states is today attributing the attack on Poland’s energy grid to Russia’s FSB Centre 16. This reckless attack failed but could have caused 500,000 citizens to lose electricity in the depths of winter. It is another example of the Russian state’s irresponsible attempts to sow chaos across Europe.
As Russia struggles to sustain its ailing war effort in Ukraine, the Russian Intelligence Service agencies have tasked cybercriminals to collect intelligence to support Russia’s military and foreign policy objectives, threatening security across Europe. This is another example of Russia using its criminal networks to do its dirty work.
Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper said:
These sanctions strike at the core of the cybercriminal networks propping up the Russian state’s aggression, and the UK and EU are sending a clear message that Russia cannot hide behind its use of these proxy groups.
From directing criminals to targeting businesses, and striking Poland’s energy grid in the depths of winter, the Russian state is sinking to new lows in its attempts to undermine European security.
Together with our partners, Britain will continue to call out this behaviour, bolster our resilience and respond to the hybrid threat posed by the Russian state. This will not deter us from supporting Ukraine.
The UK is also sanctioning individuals behind Lumma Stealer which enables cybercriminals to collect sensitive information from compromised devices at scale. The UK can reveal that Russia has used Lumma Stealer’s stolen credentials to conduct cyber espionage operations against targets globally to support the Kremlin’s objectives.
According to the National Crime Agency, within the last six months, there have been at least 2,100 Lumma Stealer victims in the UK. Today’s action further clamps down on these illicit cyber networks and their attempts to directly harm British businesses.
New measures also target 10 individuals behind Rybar LLC including directors, senior management, and content designers. The media company is resourced by the Russian state and is responsible for spreading false narratives about Ukraine and interfering in European elections, including in Moldova and Armenia.
The UK alongside our allies will continue to expose and disrupt those who carry out malign activity on behalf of the Russian state and seek to spread disinformation that undermines democracy.
To date the UK has sanctioned over 3,400 targets behind Russia’s war effort and will continue to work alongside our allies to bear down on those carrying out hostile activity on behalf of the Kremlin, spreading dangerous lies and undermining democratic values.
Notes to editors
Relevant links:
Designations
- Vyacheslav Stanislavovich STAFEYEV
- Ivan Sergeyevich KASYANENKO
- Ivan Alekseyevich SENIN
- Aleksandr Vladimirovich SHEPELEV
- Roman Aleksandrovich PUNTUS
- Dmitriy Aleksandrovich VORONOV
- Evgeniy Viktorovich BASHEV
- OOO IMPULS (Russian Limited Liability Company)
- Sultan Omarovich OMAROV
- Yuliya Vladimirovna PANKRATOVA
- Denis Olegovich DEGTYARENKO
- Maksim Evgeniyevich VORONIN
- Maksim Aleksandrovich GORDIENKO
- Marat Shaigovich ZHURKIN
- Aleksandr Klimovich KAN
- Tatiana Petrovna KOSTEROVA
- Olga Sergeevna KUZNETSOVA
- Natalia Vitalyevna CHEBOTAEVA
- Evgeniia Aleksandrovna GREBNEVA
- Maksim Vitalyevich MATVEEV
- Aleksandr Igorevich MININ
- Daria ROSLIAKOVA
- Valeriia Vladimirovna ZVINCHUK
- Denis Valeryevich VULF
