The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has sabotaged malware used by elite Russian spies, US authorities said on Tuesday, providing insight into the digital war between the two cyber superpowers.
Senior law enforcement officials have announced that FBI experts have identified and disabled malware used by agents of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) to hack into a number of American computers.
That, US authorities hope, will deal a fatal blow to one of Russia's leading cyber espionage programs.
"We estimate that it is their main tool for espionage," one of the officials told reporters, adding that Washington hopes that in this operation it "will be destroyed on the virtual battlefield."
The official identified the FSB spies responsible for the malware known as "Snake" as members of the notorious hacker group "Turla".
The group has been active for two decades against a range of targets close to NATO, US government agencies and technology companies, a senior FBI official said.
The official spoke to journalists on condition of anonymity before the official announcement, Reuters reports.
A similar operation was announced by security agencies in Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Russian diplomats did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. Moscow regularly denies accusations that it conducts espionage operations in cyberspace.
Turla is considered one of the most sophisticated hacking teams.
"They exist in the shadows, focusing on covert and operational security. They are among our toughest targets," said John Haltquist, vice president of threat analysis at US cybersecurity firm Mandiant.
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