US, Microsoft seize more than 100 websites used by Russian hackers | Semafor Events NewslettersHomepoliticsbusinesstechnologynet zerogulfafricasecuritymediaThe CEO SignalEventsNewslettersPodcastAboutSpeakers BureauCareersPrivacy© 2025 Semafor Inc.Homepoliticsbusinesstechnologynet zerogulfafricasecuritymediaThe CEO SignalAboutSpeakers BureauCareersPodcastPrivacy© 2025 Semafor Inc.D.C.BXLLagosRiyadhBeijingSG Events NewslettersD.C.BXLLagosRiyadhBeijingSGIntelligentTransparentGlobalHomepoliticsbusinesstechnologynet zerogulfafricasecuritymediaThe CEO SignalEventsNewslettersPodcastAboutSpeakers BureauCareersPrivacy© 2025 Semafor Inc.Homepoliticsbusinesstechnologynet zerogulfafricasecuritymediaThe CEO SignalUS, Microsoft seize more than 100 websites used by Russian hackersMorgan ChalfantUpdated Oct 3, 2024, 12:54pm EDTOct 3, 2024, 12:54pm EDTShareElizabeth Frantz/ReutersPostEmailWhatsappCopy linkSign up for Semafor Flagship: The daily global news briefing you can trust. Read it now.Email addressSign UpThe NewsThe US Justice Department and Microsoft said Thursday that they seized 107 internet domains used by hackers linked to Russian intelligence to target US government employees, defense contractors, and civil society organizations.Federal investigators said hackers associated with an element of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) used 41 domains in a spear phishing campaign targeting US-based companies and current and former employees in the US intelligence community, Pentagon, State Department, and Energy Department as well as US defense contractors, according to court documents unsealed Thursday.Investigators believe the hackers were seeking to obtain “information of value to the Russian government, especially in its efforts to engage in malign foreign influence operations within the United States,” authorities said.ADThe Justice Department indicted two Russian intelligence officers last December in connection with the hacking campaign.A federal court in Washington, D.C., also granted Microsoft permission to seize 66 internet domains used by the same cyberespionage group — known as the “Callisto Group” or “Star Blizzard” — to steal information from journalists, think tanks, and other civil society organizations, the company said.A lawyer for Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit said in a blog post that the group has targeted at least 82 of its customers since January of last year, “a rate of approximately one attack per week.”Know MoreThe announcement comes about a month after the Justice Department announced the seizure of dozens of web domains linked to a Russian influence campaign aimed at US voters ahead of the presidential election.AD“The Russian government ran this scheme to steal Americans’ sensitive information, using seemingly legitimate email accounts to trick victims into revealing account credentials,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement Thursday, adding that the Justice Department will be “relentless in exposing Russian actors and cybercriminals and depriving them of the tools of their illicit trade.”ADADTransparent news, distilled views, and global perspectives.Homepoliticsbusinesstechnologynet zerogulfafricasecuritymediaThe CEO SignalEventsNewslettersPodcastAboutCareersSpeakers Bureau© 2025 Semafor Inc.PrivacySign up for Semafor flagshipThe daily global news briefing you can trust.In your inbox, twice every weekday. Read it now.Email addressSign up for freeSign inAlready subscribed? Sign in and we won’t show you this message again.Take me back to the article 
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> US, Microsoft seize more than 100 websites used by Russian hackers 

>Semafor
> by Morgan Chalfant

> 
> The US Justice Department and Microsoft said Thursday that they seized 101 internet domains used by hackers linked to Russian intelligence to target US government employees, defense contractors, and civil society organizations.
> 
> Federal investigators said hackers associated with an element of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) used 41 domains in a spear phishing campaign targeting US-based companies and current and former employees in the US intelligence community, Pentagon, State Department, and Energy Department as well as US defense contractors, according to court documents unsealed Thursday.
> 
> Investigators believe the hackers were seeking to obtain “information of value to the Russian government, especially in its efforts to engage in malign foreign influence operations within the United States,” authorities said.
> 
> The Justice Department indicted two Russian intelligence officers last December in connection with the hacking campaign.
> 
> A federal court in Washington, D.C., also granted Microsoft permission to seize 66 internet domains used by the same cyberespionage group — known as the “Callisto Group” or “Star Blizzard” — to steal information from journalists, think tanks, and other civil society organizations, the company said.
> 
> A lawyer for Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit said in a blog post that the group has targeted at least 82 of its customers since January of last year, “a rate of approximately one attack per week.”
>