July 22, 2024 at 10:36AM
The US Department of Treasury imposed sanctions on Yuliya Vladimirovna Pankratova and Denis Olegovich Degtyarenko, leaders of the Russian hacktivist group CARR, for cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure in the US and Europe. CARR’s activities, including compromising industrial control systems, have led to significant security concerns, resulting in sanctions and asset blocks.
From the meeting notes, we can deduce that the US Department of Treasury has announced sanctions against two members of the Russian hacktivist group Cyber Army of Russia Reborn (CARR), identified as Yuliya Vladimirovna Pankratova and Denis Olegovich Degtyarenko. The sanctions have been imposed due to their involvement in cyberattacks targeting the critical infrastructure of the US and European countries. The sanctions involve blocking all US properties owned or associated with the individuals, as well as prohibiting US entities from engaging in transactions with Pankratova and Degtyarenko.
The Cyber Army of Russia Reborn, also known as CARR, has been involved in disrupting and compromising industrial control systems in the US and Europe, particularly focusing on water supply, hydroelectric, wastewater, and energy facilities. Their activities pose a significant threat to national security, foreign policy, and financial stability, leading to the imposition of sanctions by the US Treasury.
It is noted that Pankratova commands and controls CARR’s operations and has acted as the group’s spokesperson, while Degtyarenko is a primary hacker responsible for compromising the SCADA system of a US energy company. The US Treasury also highlighted Degtyarenko’s development of training materials on compromising SCADA systems, potentially indicating an intention to distribute the materials to external groups.
The imposed sanctions are a response to CARR’s cyber activities, which include distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against Ukraine and countries supporting it, as well as intrusions into US and European critical infrastructure entities. The US Treasury’s action reflects the seriousness with which the US government views these cyber threats and aims to deter such activities in the future.