US Sanctions Russians for Cyber Phishing Campaign

The U.S. and the U.K. this week sanctioned two Russians involved in phishing campaigns against the U.K. to undermine the country’s “democratic processes.” The sanctions target Aleksandrovich Peretyatko, a Russian Federal Security Service officer, and Andrey Stanislavovich Korinets, a Russian information technology worker.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control said both have used “spear phishing campaigns” against the U.K. and other governments, which are designed to “gain access to targeted email accounts, to maintain persistent access to the accounts and associated networks, and to obtain and potentially exfiltrate sensitive information to advance the Kremlin’s policy goals.” Those phishing campaigns can lead to “hack-and-leak operations,” where Russia uses stolen and leaked information to “shape narratives in targeted countries” and collect government emails.