U.S. Offers $10 Million Bounty for Three Russian Hackers

The U.S. State Department is offering a reward of up to $10 million through its Rewards for Justice program for information leading to the identification or location of three Russian hackers. This announcement underscores the escalating tensions in cyberspace between the U.S. and Russia.

The individuals named are Marat Valeryevich Tyukov, Mikhail Mikhailovich Gavrilov, and Pavel Aleksandrovich Akulov. All three are alleged to be members of the FSB’s (Federal Security Service) Center 16, also known by threat actors names such as “Energetic Bear,” “Dragonfly,” and “Crouching Yeti.”

These hackers are accused of conducting a series of sophisticated cyberattacks targeting critical U.S. infrastructure and global energy companies. The alleged attacks impacted over 500 foreign energy firms across 135 countries, highlighting the breadth and potential impact of their operations.

According to the FBI, the group exploited a vulnerability, CVE-2018-0171, present in Cisco network devices to gain unauthorized access to computer networks worldwide. This vulnerability resided in the Smart Install feature of Cisco IOS and IOS XE software.

The attackers purportedly leveraged the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) in combination with the unpatched Cisco vulnerability to exfiltrate configuration files from thousands of network devices belonging to critical infrastructure entities within the United States. Beyond data theft, they allegedly modified device configurations, establishing unauthorized backdoors for persistent access. The CVE-2018-0171 vulnerability was assigned a CVSS score of 9.8, classifying it as critical.

While a patch for the vulnerability was released in 2018, a significant number of older, unsupported devices remain exposed, presenting a continuing security risk. This highlights a recurring challenge in cybersecurity: the difficulty in ensuring consistent and timely patching across all networked devices, especially in large, distributed critical infrastructure environments. The slow pace of patching is often attributed to the complexity of infrastructure environments, the potential for disruption during updates, and the limited resources available to maintain legacy systems.

The Rewards for Justice program is accepting tips through a secure, Tor-based channel. In addition to the multi-million dollar reward, the United States government may offer relocation assistance to tipsters who can help disrupt these ongoing cyberattacks and bring the perpetrators to justice. This reward underscores the strong U.S. government interest to deter this type of malicious cyber activity.