Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has opened a criminal case against a scientist in Moscow suspected of carrying out distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on behalf of Ukraine’s intelligence agency.
The suspect, a physicist identified by local media as 33-year-old Artem Khoroshilov, has been accused of treason. If found guilty, he could potentially face a life sentence. Russia’s security service claims that the suspect has “confessed” to the charges.
According to media reports, the scientist allegedly contacted representatives of the Ukrainian special services after Moscow invaded Ukraine and was subsequently instructed to carry out DDoS attacks on Russian critical infrastructure and to collect data on Russian military personnel and the movement of military equipment.
The FSB also alleges that the suspect regularly transferred money and cryptocurrency to accounts of funds registered in Ukraine for the purchase of weapons, military equipment and gear for the Ukrainian armed forces.
Although information about the scientist’s arrest became public this week, it is likely that he was detained some time ago, as the alleged footage of the arrest published by local media was filmed in winter, in a snow-covered city.
In the video, several people in civilian clothes, with blurred faces, are seen pushing a man onto a snowy road and holding him on the ground before eventually dragging him into a bus. According to the FSB, the suspect is currently being held in a pre-trial detention facility.
This is not the first time Russian intelligence has detained local residents suspected of aiding Ukraine. In July, a Russian student was found guilty of passing the locations of Russian troops to Ukraine’s security service (SBU) and was sentenced to five years in a maximum-security colony.
In October, two Russian citizens were detained in Siberia for allegedly carrying out cyberattacks on Russian networks on behalf of Ukraine. If found guilty, they could face up to 20 years in prison on charges of treason.
Last year, three residents of the Russian city Rostov-on-Don were sentenced to prison or fined for carrying out DDoS attacks against Russian sites.
Recorded Future News couldn’t independently verify any of these reports.
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Daryna Antoniuk
is a reporter for Recorded Future News based in Ukraine. She writes about cybersecurity startups, cyberattacks in Eastern Europe and the state of the cyberwar between Ukraine and Russia. She previously was a tech reporter for Forbes Ukraine. Her work has also been published at Sifted, The Kyiv Independent and The Kyiv Post.
