Russia’s FSB says it has taken down REvil hacker group at US request

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The REvil hacking group has been arrested by Russia's domestic security service at the request of the US government. The move, which marks an unusual degree of cooperation between Russian and US agencies, comes amid increasingly aggressive Russian military activity on the Ukrainian border and tense diplomacy as the United States attempts to prevent armed conflict.

The Interfax news agency reported that the FSB seized over half a billion dollars in assets in a raid against 14 members of the group. The FSB told Interfax that it had informed the US authorities of the results of the operation. The operation effectively dismantled REvil, according to the FSB.

The Biden administration has long called on Russia to do more to crack down on gangs that operate within the country. Analysts have tied Russian groups to a wide range of cyberattacks in Europe and the US without interference from local law enforcement. The Russian government has been accused of giving shelter to cybercriminals if they don't attack domestic targets.

The FBI linked REvil to the hack that shut down the Colonial Pipeline. In May 2021, REvil was behind a cyberattack against meat supplier JBS, which shut down the company's meat processing plants across the US.

The alleged member of REvil was arrested by Polish authorities in November of 2021. A source close to the case said that the REvil group would not be handed over to the US after the latest arrests.

The US Department of Justice did not respond to the request.

On the same day that the government of Ukraine suffered a major cyber attack, news of the operation against REvil came. The EU and the Ukrainian government blamed Russia for the disabled websites on Friday.

As the US and Russia continue to negotiate over military activities on the border of the two countries, the actions of the FSB could be linked to the talks, according to a global fellow at the Wilson Center.

Jankowicz said that Russia might be trying to throw the US a bone by taking down REvil. Russia has over 100,000 troops on the border and this morning, the government of Ukraine was hit by a massive cyberattack.

The mode of operation was similar to the attacks in Georgia and the annexation of the peninsula in Russia, Jankowicz said.