Russian intelligence services carried out cyber espionage operations and “malicious cyber activities” targeting prominent British politicians, officials and journalists in a continuing effort to interfere in political processes in the United Kingdom, according to the British government.
The British Foreign Office attributed these operations to the Russian Federal Security Agency (FSB), noting that they targeted British parliamentarians from various parties from at least 2015 until the current year. Foreign Secretary Leo Docherty briefed lawmakers on a cyber group called “Star Blizzard” or Callisto Group, supposedly affiliated with the FSB, which uses fake identities to send malicious links to victims.
This group aimed to use the information collected to influence British politics, affecting not only politicians, but also public figures, institutions and various sectors. Although some attacks led to the leak of documents, the government stated that attempts to intervene were not successful.
The UK imposed sanctions on an FSB intelligence officer and a member of Star Blizzard in response to these phishing scams. The Russian ambassador to the UK was summoned to express concerns about the intervention.
Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Russia’s attempts to interfere in British politics were unacceptable and had so far failed. Although the full extent of cyber interference is confident that the full extent of cyber interference will be discovered, British officials will remain vigilant ahead of next year’s general election.
fountain: C4ISRNET
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