The FBI's Boston office has outsmarted a network of Russian cybercrooks who planted "Moobot" malware in over a thousand routers across the globe, including those in small businesses and homes within the United States. According to The Boston Herald, this was part of a Russian scheme designed to pilfer secrets from government and corporate targets.
In a meticulous cross-border crackdown, dubbed "Operation Dying Ember," and unveiled at the Munich Security Conference, FBI Director Chris Wray announced the court-authorized operation, which reportedly booted the Russian GRU Military Unit 26165's access to the infected botnets. "We ran a court-authorized technical operation to kick the Russian GRU off well over a thousand home and small business routers, and lock the door behind them," Wray said, as per remarks obtained by The Boston Globe.
The Russian operatives, posing as international organizations, infiltrated these systems primarily through routers provided by Ubiquiti Inc. by installing Moobot malware, which allowed sweeping spearphishing campaigns to snatch credentials and private data. The compromised routers spanned across almost every state, with many located in New England, reported both The Boston Herald and The Boston Globe.
Upon the FBI's intrusion, firewalls were promptly updated to block the Moobot malware, limiting further cyber subterfuge. "Malicious data" was purged from the routers, handing unsuspecting victims back the reins of their networks. The move by the FBI, serving virtual eviction notices to Russian hackers, highlighted the agency's resolve against international cyber threats. "This operation should make it crystal clear to our adversaries that we will not allow anyone to exploit our technology and networks," Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the FBI Boston Division said in a stark warning, as told to The Boston Globe.
In a separate thread of national security concerns, the White House has flagged the emergence of a new Russian anti-satellite weapon as "troubling," though security spokesman John Kirby assured that it was not designed for terrestrial aggression. "We're not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or cause physical destruction here on Earth," Kubir noted, according to The Boston Herald.
