It was announced late last night that the US had decided to impose upon Russia several sanctions due to the emergence of conclusive evidence about Russia’s alleged involvement in the NotPetya ransomware outbreak. The ransomware outbreak is said to have been a targeted attack intended to cause a definitive impact upon the American power grid. This is the same case of ransomware that has been causing a stir at several state level judicial servers.
Apart from the energy grid disruption, there were also rumors that the sanctions were a result of alleged Russian involvement in the 2016 US Presidential election. The affair about the Russian involvement has been dragging on for about a year and a half. It has already resulted in two separate Congressional and FBI led investigations into the scale of the involvement.
These sanctions were announced by the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). In a detailed press release the Department made it clear that concrete evidence had emerged which pointed to clear Russian involvement in the NotPetya ransomware outbreak which led to the announcement of such stern sanctions.
The US treasury made it clear that the sanctions are meant to be implemented immediately and hence do not require the President’s signature. Furthermore, it revealed in the detailed report it published that nearly five entities had been identified in addition to 19 individuals that were suspected of aiding and abetting these cyber attacks.
One of the entities that have been called out by name is Internet Research Agency LLC (IRA). The entity does not operate out of the US, rather out of St. Petersburg, Russia. The Treasury states that IRA is a “troll factory” based inside Russia, and it has been responsible for the numerous propaganda pieces being conjured up to influence the 2016 election. It also aided the proliferation of these fake news items in order to cause mass hysteria and confusion.
Additionally, the report singles out some high ranking officials of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), who the Treasury believes may have played a significant role in bankrolling the funds and resources needed to carry out the NotPetya ransomware.
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