In an unprecedented decision to address the deadly virus of cyber crimes, the U.S. government has placed a bounty of a whopping $10 million for the information leading to the capture or whereabouts of the notorious Russian hacking group “Cadet Blizzard”. The investigation has revealed the involvement of this group in significant high-level attacks on critical, diverse, thorough network infrastructures, government bodies, and businesses in other countries.
The Cadet Blizzard is considered to have links with Russian intelligence services and operates with them, which gives its activities a new edge and twist. A bounty was offered under the U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice program, which describes the degree of concern and danger these criminals pose.
Who Is Cadet Blizzard?
Cadet Blizzard is not a common name among the increasing number of cyber enemies. Changes have been easy to notice regarding the company’s way of doing business at the global level. Among these entities, there are some distortion hostile takeover matters. In particular, they pin-point and capture important industries such as energy, consumer and healthcare and communication sectors.
Hands of Major Attacks Tied to Cadet Blizzard
The group has been placing itself in the scene of notable cyberattacks attributed to them over the last few years. Some highlights lie as followerings, include the infamous;
Power Grid Attacks: Cadet Blizzard’s presence became known due to conspiracy theories that initiated cyber attacks aimed at hindering energy services in several regions of Eastern Europe. These attacks were a great risk, mostly because they targeted the country’s critical infrastructure.
Healthcare System Breaches: They have also participated in cyber assaults on the healthcare systems, where they have obtained confidential information regarding patients, and even interrupted the provision of health services. Covid 19 breach resulted into loss of lives due to delays in treatment.
Ransomware Campaigns: The extremist group has also been active in some ransomware campaigns, wherein they have locked up some very crucial information or data of some organizations and therefore have turned to the business of seeking unreasonable amounts in exchange for the information.
Government Agency Breaches: Cadet Blizzard’s hacks have also targeted a dossier of various government agencies in the United States and other countries. These intrusions have resulted in leaks and exfiltrations of state secrets, making officials’ national security quite jittery.
Why The United States is offering the A $10 Million Bounty
In addition, the 10 million dollar bounty is testimony of how far the U.S. government is willing to go if it means undertaking Cadet Blizzard’s activities. There has arisen an increase in the prevalence of cyber activities, particularly cyber terrorism which can be regarded as one of the most outstanding difficulties in child welfare. Thus, with the amount awarded by the U.S. government, they hope that this will help lead to the right information, enough evidence to apprehend the suspects and get rid of their activities.
The Prospect of the Prize
The bounty also emphasizes the increasing extent of transnational collaboration in the war against computer crime. Intellectual resources are increasingly being shared in various countries in relation to cyber issues that are highly likely to be transnational. The US government’s offer for information on Cadet Blizzard could help generate a culture of informing amongst the organization’s members or those close to them, resulting in the arrests of influential perpetrators and the aversion of offensive activities.
Conclusion
Offering a bounty for Cadet Blizzard is also consistent with the focus and perspective of the US government and its law enforcement agencies in fighting computer-based crimes. This because their impact has procedure transformed, primary of them is the growing threat posed by state sponsored cyber assaults such as Cadet Blizzard’s and others. As these groups cause chaos on international infrastructure, commerce and politics, trust and swift measures through collaboration will be vital in keeping everyone on the net secure.
