4 Russian government employees charged for hacking hundreds of companies in over 130 countries

WASHINGTON - Four Russian government officials have been charged by the Department of Justice for hacking campaigns targeting thousands of computers at hundreds of companies and organizations in over 130 countries.

According to the FBI, the Department of Justice unsealed two indictments Thursday charging Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh, Pavel Aleksandrovich Akulov, Marat Valeryevich Tyukov, and Mikhail Mikhailovich Gavrilov. 

The agency say the Russian nationals worked with their government "conducting cyber intrusions" that targeted global energy sector between 2012 and 2018. 

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According to a June 2021 indictment case in Washington, D.C., Gladkikh worked as an employee at a Russian Ministry of Defense research institute. He and his co-conspirators allegedly attempted to hack computers at a U.S. company that manages critical infrastructure properties domestically. The group also are believed to have damaged another country's critical infrastructure, causing two separate emergency shutdowns. 

In a separate indictment from August 2021, Akulov, Tyukov, and Gavrilov – all Russian Federal Security Service officers, allegedly developed a two-phased plan to "target and compromise" hundreds of energy sector-related companies' computers worldwide. 

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 "The FBI, along with our federal and international partners, is laser-focused on countering the significant cyber threat Russia poses to our critical infrastructure," FBI Deputy Director Paull Abbate said.  

Gladkikh, Akulov,  Tyukov, and Gavrilov are each wanted by the FBI. If you have any information concerning them, please contact your local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.