Ransom-War: Russian Extortion Operations and Hybrid Warfare, Part One
Some ransomware attacks serve both financial and political motives and may play a role in Russia's ongoing "hybrid warfare" against the West
Epigraphs:
"Hackers are free people. They are like artists. If they are in a good mood, they get up in the morning and begin painting their pictures. Hackers are the same. They wake up in the morning, they read about some developments in international affairs, and if they have a patriotic mindset, then they try to make their own contribution the way they consider right into the fight against those who have bad things to say about Russia." (Russian President Vladimir Putin, June 1, 2017)
“....the government will come and ask us nicely...'Here you go, guys. Now we need you to destroy another country’….we want to destabilize America. You know, destroy it, just as they want to destroy us." (Russian hacker Pavel Sitnikov describes the hacker’s ideal world in a 2020 interview, hxxps://expert[.]ru/expert/2020/39/oni-ne-pomnyat-nas-horoshih-pust-ne-zabudut-nas-plohih/)
“Do you have info linking CL0P Ransomware Gang or any other malicious cyber actors targeting U.S. critical infrastructure to a …
