Russian Hackers Targeted Ukranian Gas Firm During Impeachment Trials

Ukrania was recently once again targeted by a hacking attack, which took advantage of the commotion caused by the US President’s recent impeachment trial. As many likely remember, President Donald Trump was accused of misusing his position to pressure Ukraine into investigating former VP Joseph R. Biden Jr, as well as his son, Hunter Biden.

BREAKING: As the November impeachment hearings got underway, Russia's GRU hacked Burisma in what appears to be a repeat of 2016, when GRU hackers breached the DNC and then selectively leaked emails to hurt Clinton's candidacy. https://t.co/nQhhndnAV3 with @AllMattNYT

— Nicole Perlroth (@nicoleperlroth) January 13, 2020

Meanwhile, the hackers made a move against the Ukrainian gas company known as Burisma, which is also a company that had Hunter Biden as a member of its board. According to researchers, the attacks started in early November 2019, as the talks of the impeachment trials and the Bidens were at their peak in the US. It is currently unknown what the hackers may have found, or even what they may have been after. However, researchers believe that they may have been seeking leverage against Bidens — something that might be helpful to Trump. Interestingly enough, this would be the same information that Trump was hoping to find when he demanded that Bidens and Burisma are investigated, which is what led to the impeachment in the first place. Another interesting detail is that the hackers’ tactics are extremely similar to those seen during the hack of Hilary Clinton’s emails during the 2016 presidential campaign. This indicates that both attacks may have been performed by the same hackers — from the Russian military intelligence unit, G.R.U., also known as Fancy Bear. The hack was noticed by Silicon Valley’s security firm, Area 1, which relied on phishing to trick Burisma’s employees into revealing their login credentials for the company’s network. According to researchers, the attack was successful, and Russian hackers have certainly become stealthier since 2016. With the US and Russia continuously meddling into each other’s elections, there has been no lack of conspiracy theories regarding the two countries and their officials, including the Bidens.