FBI Destroyed Russian Hackers' Computer Infrastructure

The operation has been called a "pre-emptive move".

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has gained access to most of the routers and firewalls of Russian military hackers. This infrastructure had previously been used by Russian spies to gain access to personal data.

This is reported by Reuters.

The operation to take control of Russia's digital infrastructure was a pre-emptive move aimed at preventing Russian hackers from mobilising hacked devices in the "botnet" - the network of hacked computers that can bombard other servers with fraudulent traffic.

"The botnet was controlled by a malware called Cyclops Blink, which the US and UK cyber defence agencies have publicly attributed to a Russian military intelligence hacking group that has repeatedly been accused of carrying out cyber attacks.

FBI director Chris Ray told reporters that the bureau employees had secretly infiltrated thousands of routers and firewalls with court approval to remove the malware and reconfigure the devices.

"We have removed malware from devices used by thousands of companies for network security around the world. We closed the door through which the Russians infiltrated them," Ray said.