Russian hacker indicted for aiding Russia's invasion of Ukraine

June 26 (UPI) -- A Russian hacker has been indicted in the United States for aiding the Kremlin in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

According to prosecutors, Amin Timovich Stigal, 22, conspired with Russian intelligence to attack dozens of Ukrainian government networks a month before Moscow invaded the European country, infecting their computers with malware called WhisperGate that was designed to destroy the devices and related data.

Conspirators in the plan exfiltrated sensitive data, including health records, from targeted computer systems while defacing websites with the message, "Ukrainians! All information about you has become public be afraid and expect the worst," according to the indictment that said the stolen information was then put up for sale online.

Microsoft first detected the intrusion in Ukraine on Jan. 13 of that year, with the U.S. State Department and ally nations that May formally stating that WhisperGate was among a family of destructive wiper malware that Russian military cyber operators had deployed as far back as January 2022.

The indictment -- which was returned by a Maryland federal grand jury on Tuesday -- also accuses Stigal of being among conspirators who used the same computer infrastructure employed for the Ukraine hacks to infiltrate a federal government agency in Maryland between Aug. 5, 2021 and Feb. 3, 2022.

Prosecutors also charged him with supporting the hack of the transportation infrastructure of an unidentified Central European country that was aiding Ukraine's defense against Russia's invasion.

"The defendant conspired with Russian military intelligence on the eve of Russia's unjust and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine to launch cyberattacks targeting the Ukrainian government and later targeting its allies, including the United States," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

"The Justice Department will continue to stand with Ukraine on every front in its fight against Russia's war of aggression, including by holding accountable those who support Russia's malicious cyber activity."

Stigal is at large, and a reward of up to $10 million is being offered by the U.S. State Department for information on Stigal's location or his cyberactivity.

The State Department's notice further alleges that Stigal is linked to cyber crimes against Ukrainian, NATO and U.S. computer networks.

"Cyber intrusion schemes such as the one alleged threaten our national security, and we will use all the technologies and investigative measures at our disposal to disrupt and track down these cybercriminals," U.S. Attorney Erek Barron for the District of Maryland said.