Russian Faces 20 Year In Prison For DDoS Attack
A Russian man has been charged by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) with treason for carrying out Distributed Denial of Services (DDoS) attacks on critical infrastructure. The suspect has been identified as 33-year-old Artem Khoroshilov, is reported to have confessed to a charge treason and faces 20 years in prison.
In A DDoS attack, multiple devices are used to overwhelm a targeted server with traffic and take online services offline. While there have been other DDoS-related prosecutions previously in Russia, this is the first time that the charge of treason, which carries a more punitive sentence, has been used.
In this case, the FSB claims that the suspect, who allegedly opposed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, established contact with Ukrainian special services. He is accused of targeting “critically important objects of the Russian Federation” in an attempt to disrupt Russian infrastructure. The FSB also accuses him of collecting data on Russian military personnel and the movement of military equipment. In addition to the DDoS attacks, the suspect reportedly transferred personal funds and cryptocurrency to Ukrainian accounts used to support the Ukraine military.
The suspect was initially arrested earlier this year and faced charges related to “illegal influence on the critical information infrastructure.” The FSB has now upgraded the offence to the far more serious charges to treason.
This is not the first time Russian intelligence has detained local residents suspected of aiding Ukraine.
- In 2023, an IT specialist from Rostov was sentenced to three years in prison for DDoS attacks against the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation and a website associated with President Vladimir Putin.
- Earlier this year, a Russian student was guilty of passing the locations of Russian troops to Ukraine’s security service (SBU) and was sentenced to five years in a maximum-security colony.
- Two Russian citizens were caught in Siberia for allegedly carrying out cyber attacks on Russian networks on behalf of Ukraine.
The decision to pursue treason charges in this instance highlights the increasing scrutiny and more severe legal consequences for those accused of undermining Russian security amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.
NCSC | I-HLS | The Record | Cybernews | Cloudflare
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