Trump admin thwarts foreign ‘hacktivist’ plot to sabotage America’s critical water infrastructure

A Ukrainian national has been charged for collaborating with two Russia-linked criminal groups responsible for carrying cyberattacks worldwide and against the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced late Tuesday.

The EPA, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced Tuesday that indictments against Victoria Eduardovna Dubranova were unsealed in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. The Ukrainian national was indicted with one count of “conspiracy to damage protected computers and tamper with public water systems,” according to the EPA.

“The defendant’s illegal actions to tamper with the nation’s public water systems put communities and the nation’s drinking water resources at risk,” EPA Acting Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Craig Pritzlaff said in a statement. “These criminal charges serve as an unequivocal warning to malicious cyber actors in the U.S. and abroad: EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate threats to our nation’s water infrastructure and will pursue justice against those who endanger the American public. EPA is unwavering in its commitment to clean, safe water for all Americans.”

The EPA released resources on helping protect American water systems from cyberthreats on Oct. 23, and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has listed access to clean and safe water for every American as a major pillar of his agency.

Dubranova was extradited to America earlier this year for her actions supporting the CyberArmyofRussia_Reborn (CARR) and was arraigned on a second indictment for her collaboration with the Russian-linked hacking group known as “NoName,” though she pleaded not guilty, according to the EPA and the Department of Justice (DOJ).

“According to the indictment, NoName claimed credit for hundreds of cyberattacks against victims worldwide in support of Russia’s geopolitical interests. NoName regularly posted on Telegram claiming credit for its attacks and published proof of victim websites being taken offline,” according to the DOJ. “NoName’s victims included government agencies, financial institutions, and critical infrastructure, such as public railways and ports.”

EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security conducted the investigation into CARR. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided “significant assistance,” according to the EPA and the DOJ.

“Politically-motivated hacktivist groups, whether state-sponsored like CARR or state-sanctioned like NoName, pose a serious threat to our national security, particularly when foreign intelligence services use civilians to obfuscate their malicious cyber activity targeting American critical infrastructure as well as attacking proponents of NATO and U.S. interests abroad,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California said in a statement. “The charges announced today demonstrate our commitment to eradicating global threats to cybersecurity and pursuing malicious cyber actors working on behalf of adversarial foreign interests.”

Dubranova could face a statutory maximum sentence of 27 years in federal prison if convicted of the charges, according to the EPA and the DOJ. Other charges included “one count of damaging protected computers, one count of access device fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft,” according to the federal agencies.

“An indictment is merely an allegation,” the release states. “All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”

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