U.S., U.K. Accuse Russia-Backed Hackers of Cyber Espionage

The U.S. and U.K. charged Russian-backed hackers with hacking “computer routers around the world” in an effort to infiltrate “government agencies, businesses and critical infrastructure operators” in a cyber-espionage campaign, according to Reuters. Officials from U.K.'s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security told reporters they will issue a “joint alert” on the attacks, which target a key part of the internet infrastructure and could potentially be used to “launch offensive attacks” in the future. "Russia is our most capable hostile adversary in cyber-space, so dealing with their attacks is a major priority for the National Cyber Security Centre and our US allies," said Ciaran Martin, head of the NCSC in a statement to BBC News. Marin also said that the U.K. was working with the U.S. and allies to “expose Russia's unacceptable cyber-behavior, so they are held accountable for their actions.”