DOJ Charges Six Russian Intelligence Officers In Worldwide Cyberhacks

On Monday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed charges against six Russian cyberhackers, who reportedly go by "Sandworm," alleging they were behind several hacks over the last four years. Some of those include allegedly hacking the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the 2017 French elections, and Ukrainian Parliament, finance ministry and electrical grid. Sandworm, who reportedly work for the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) (which is accused of interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential election), are charged with conspiracy to conduct computer fraud and abuse, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, damaging protected computers and aggravated identity theft. The story was covered by outlets from across the political spectrum. Some center-rated outlets focused on detailed analysis of what the DOJ indictment means for 2020 election security.