Six Russian intelligence hackers indicted; US will remove Sudan from terror list; UK scientists to start human challenge trials
A poster showing six wanted Russian military intelligence officers is displayed as Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division John Demers, left, takes the podium to speak at a news conference at the Department of Justice, Oct. 19, 2020.
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The US Justice Department unsealed charges Monday against Russian intelligence officers for wide-ranging cyberattacks. The indictment accuses six defendants of hacking incidents that targeted a French presidential election, American companies and the opening ceremony of the 2018 Olympics, among other targets. The defendants’ unit is the same Kremlin team that staged the 2016 US presidential election interference and is part of the GRU, the Russian military intelligence branch.
While US election interference is not part of the indictment, one of the defendants was also named in former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. But Assistant Attorney General John Demers said the timing was not related to the upcoming US election.
Prosecutors allege that the crimes — which caused billions of dollars in losses — were attempts to promote Russian geopolitical interests and punish Moscow’s enemies. Scott Brady, the US Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, where the 50-page indictment was filed, said the hacks were “some of the most destructive, most costly, most egregious cyberattacks ever known.”
One of the malware attacks, known as NotPetya, originally targeted the Ukrainian power grid but spread and infected computers around the world and damaged operations for the Heritage Valley Health System, serving many thousands of people in Pennsylvania.
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US President Donald Trump announced Monday that the State Department will remove Sudan from a list of countries that sponsor terrorism, with Khartoum apparently agreeing to pay $335 million to victims and their families from three terrorist attacks in 1998 and 2000. The move clears the way for Sudan to receive international aid and to normalize relations with Israel, a result that two US officials said could happen within several days.
And scientists in the UK have announced plans to start the world’s first “human challenge” trials for COVID-19, deliberately infecting healthy volunteers with the coronavirus to speed up the road to a vaccine. British scientists say the strategy could accelerate vaccine development by three months and save thousands of lives, whereas many US experts believe such tactics are too risky and unnecessary. The experiment, set to begin in January, will keep 19 young volunteers at a biosecure London facility where the live virus will be inserted into their noses.
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A new, nonpartisan group of retired US generals and veterans has come forward to say that declaring a winner too early could disenfranchise the 172,000 active-duty service members abroad and their families.
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Health officials around the world continue to urge people to wear masks and social distance to prevent the spread of the coroanvirus. Sometimes, a catchy tune helps reinforce the message.
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