The UK and the European Union have imposed new sanctions on the Russian state and criminal networks accused of orchestrating cyberattacks, interfering in elections and spreading anti-Ukraine disinformation across Europe, in a coordinated move with the European Union.
According to a statement by the UK government, the measures target 24 individuals and entities allegedly responsible for destructive cyber and hybrid operations, including cybercriminals involved in proxy networks linked to the Russian Intelligence Services (RIS), News.Az reports.
Among those sanctioned are senior GRU officials Vyacheslav Stafeyev, Ivan Senin and Ivan Kasyanenko, who the UK said directed GRU cyber and hybrid threat operations.
According to the UK government, the GRU's Unit 29155 cyber division worked with cybercriminals, including the company IMPULS, to recruit hackers and cyber specialists from universities and military academies across Russia.
In addition, the UK and EU member states jointly attributed a cyberattack targeting Poland's energy grid to Russia's FSB Centre 16. British authorities said the attack was unsuccessful but could have left up to 500,000 people without electricity during the winter, describing it as another example of Russia's attempts to create instability across Europe.
The UK said that as Russia struggles to sustain its war effort in Ukraine , Russian intelligence agencies have increasingly tasked cybercriminals with gathering intelligence to support Moscow's military and foreign policy objectives, warning that such activities continue to pose a threat to security across Europe and demonstrate Russia's reliance on criminal networks to conduct cyber operations.
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