“The department of justice is continuing to send a powerful message that we will not allow individuals, groups, nation-states, or a combination of them to compromise the privacy of our citizens, the economic interests of our companies or the security of our country.” Mary McCord — Assistant Attorney General for National Security

The US has announced charges against two Russian intelligence officers and two hackers over a massive Yahoo data breach that affected at least 1 billion user accounts. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today

The indictment is the first US ‘cybercrimes’ criminal case brought against Russian government officials. The case is not without irony. One of these men — Dmitry Dokuchaev — has been arrested in early December 2016 on charges of High Treason. (Collaboration with the CIA)

The two FSB Russian agents were identified as Dmitry Dokuchaev and Igor Sushchin. Western Media have little information about these two men. The Guardian writes:

Dokuchaev was described as an officer in the FSB Center for Information Security, known as “Center 18”, which is supposed to investigate hacking. According to the Washington Post, which first reported news of the charges, he began working for the agency to avoid prosecution for credit card fraud. Dokuchaev was one of two FSB agents arrested in December, according to Russian news agencies, and charged with treason over alleged cooperation with the CIA.

Here is the information Intel Today has reported about Dmitry Dokuchaev so far.

Between October and December 2016, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has arrested three members of the Anonymous International/Shaltay-Boltay: Vladimir Anikeev (‘Lewis’) –the leader and founder of the group — as well as two of his alleged accomplices Aleksandr Filinov (‘Mad Hatter’) and Konstantin Tepljakov (‘March Hare’). Anikeev’s girlfriend and accomplice Irina Shevchenko (‘Alice’) is ‘wanted’ by the FSB. Another member, Alexander Glazastikov is on the run and hopes to be granted political asylum in Estonia.

The FSB has also arrested Ruslan Stoyanov, the former head of Kaspersky Lab’s Computer Incident Investigation Department. Last but not least, the FSB has arrested colonel Sergey Mikhailov and his colleague Major Dmitry Dokuchaev, both senior officers of the 2nd Operational Management of FSB Information Security Center. Novaya Gazeta has recently revealed the name of the third FSB officer arrested on charges of treason: Georgy Fomchenkov. Very little is know about this 40 year old FSB officer and his role in this high-profile case.

WARNING — The arrest of the high-ranking officers of the Federal Security Service – Sergey Mikhaylov and Dmitry Dokuchayev may or may not be connected with the case of the Shaltay Boltay hack group. Also, it is not known at this point whether or not, this story is related to the “hack” of the 2016 US Presidential election. During the press conference, US DOJ and FBI officials refused to answer any question regarding the DNC hack.

Justice Department Announces Charges Against Russian Spies Suspected of Hacking Yahoo Accounts

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States announced charges Wednesday against two Russian intelligence officers and two hackers, accusing them of a mega data breach at Yahoo that affected at least a half billion user accounts. “Dmitry Dokuchaev and Igor Sushchin, both FSB officers, protected, directed, facilitated and paid criminal hackers to collect information through computer intrusions in the United States and elsewhere,” Mary McCord, the acting assistant attorney general, said during a press conference. The hack targeted the email accounts of Russian and U.S. officials, Russian journalists, and employees of financial services and other businesses, officials said. “We will not allow individuals, groups, nation states or a combination of them to compromise the privacy of our citizens, the economic interests of our companies, or the security of our country,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Mary McCord. One of the defendants has been taken into custody in Canada, and another is on the list of the FBI’s most wanted cyber criminals. The charges arise from a compromise of Yahoo user accounts that began at least as early as 2014. Though the Justice Department has previously charged Russian hackers with cybercrime — as well as hackers sponsored by the Chinese and Iranian governments — this is the first criminal case brought against Russian government officials.

Profile of FSB Major Dmitry Dokuchaev (‘Forb’)

Regarded as an experienced hacker, Dokuchaev also worked at the (2nd department of operative management) FSB ISC (Information Security Center). Dmitry Dokuchaev was thus a colleague of Mikhailov’s at the FSB.

ARREST — Major Dmitry Dokuchaev was detained on December 4 2016. (Mikhailov was detained at a board meeting — escorted out of the room with a bag thrown over his head.)

LEGAL CHARGE — Major Dmitry Dokuchaev has been charged under Art. 275 of the Criminal Code (High treason).

CRIMES — Being accused of treason, the case is classified. It is not known exactly what crimes he is suspected of having committed. Russian media have reported that Dokuchaev (and Mikhailov) have passed classified information to the CIA.

LIFE — Dokuchaev is native of Yekaterinburg, where he graduated from one of the technical colleges in 2005. In the IT-community, he gained fame after breaking through several major sites, including in the US. These events attracted the attention of the FSB ISC.

FSB ISC — Dokuchaev worked as a hacker under the alias “Forb” until Russia’s Federal Security Service threatened to jail him. The FSB had traced Dokuchaev to the card thefts, and threatened to prosecute him unless he agreed to work for the agency According to Russian media ‘Gazeta’, his name fist surfaced in 2012, during an investigation concerning the criminal case of the founder and CEO processing company “Chronopay” Paul Wroblewski.

COINCIDENCES — Paul Wroblewski rented the servers that the FBI has linked to suspicious activities related to the US 2016 Presidential election. Colonel Sergey Mikhailov testified against Wroblewski at his trial. Since that time, Wroblewski has accused Mikhailov to be a spy for some US Intelligence Agencies, including the FBI.

PSEUDONYM — Gazeta learned that Dokuchaev had been writing for the magazine “Hacker” since 2005, hiding under the pseudonym “Forb”.

VIDEO

REFERENCES

US charges two Russian spies and two hackers in Yahoo data breach — GUARDIAN

DMITRY ALEKSANDROVICH DOKUCHAEV — FBI

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FBI charges two Russian spies in Yahoo data breach