The data of more than 13 million Ukrainians was stolen from Diya

The FBI is seeking Russian national Amin Stigal for allegedly being involved in a devastating attack on Ukrainian government computer systems and critical infrastructure ahead of a large-scale Russian invasion. This was reported by the Voice of America.

US federal authorities are offering a reward of up to $10 million for information on the whereabouts of a Russian citizen who may be linked to a widespread cyberattack on the computer systems of Ukraine, an unnamed allied country in Central Europe, and US government facilities in Maryland.

"The Department of Justice will continue to support Ukraine on all fronts in its fight against Russia’s war of aggression, including holding accountable those who support Russia’s malicious cyber activities," U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement announcing the charges.

A federal grand jury indicted Russian Amin Stigal this week. He was accused of conspiracy to commit fraud by hacking and destroying computer systems using the WhisperGate program.

According to the indictment, Stigall and his unnamed Russian intelligence interlocutors, the GRU, targeted at least two dozen protected computers, including at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Judicial Administration, the Ministry of Energy and the State Emergency Service.

A federal arrest warrant for Steagall, 22, was issued on June 25, 2024, in U.S. District Court in Maryland after he was charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion and mischief. He remains at large, prosecutors said.

According to a report on the FBI website, Amin Timovich Stigal, born in 2002, is a native of the capital of Chechnya, Grozny, and between August 2021 and February 2022, he likely participated in “criminal cyber activities” that led to the destruction of the computer systems of the Ukrainian critical infrastructure on the eve of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In addition, according to the FBI, he allegedly participated in a conspiracy against United States government cyber systems and private sector infrastructure.

The WhisperGate attacks were disguised to look like the work of ordinary cybercriminals rather than government agents, and were accompanied by messages demanding payment of $10,000 in Bitcoin to recover stolen data. But the hackers’ real goal was to delete data and disable government computers.