Washington offers $10 million reward for information on suspected Russian cybercriminals

The United States has announced that it is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information on a group of suspected Russian cybercriminals.

In a statement on Tuesday, the State Department said its Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program is seeking information on six individuals believed to be linked to a criminal conspiracy involving malicious cyber activity affecting critical infrastructure in the United States.

These people were part of the criminal conspiracy that took part in infecting computers around the world in June 2017 using malware referred to as NotPetya, the State Department alleged.

The reported attack caused damage to computers in hospitals and other medical facilities at the Heritage Valley Health System in Pennsylvania, one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturers in the United States, and other private sector entities American.

The attack collectively cost all targeted US entities nearly $1 billion in losses, according to US diplomacy.

The six people allegedly linked to the attack worked as officers in unit 74455 of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (GRU), called “Sandworm Team, Telebots, Voodoo Bear and Iron Viking” by cybersecurity researchers, according to the statement.