The US State Department said the six officers, working in a unit focused on cyber activities at Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate, were involved in a global malware attack in 2017 that infected the computers of a number of US entities, including a hospital system.
The 2017 “NotPetya” cyber attack paralyzed sectors of Ukraine’s infrastructure and damaged computers in countries around the world including France, Germany, Italy and the United States, causing billions of dollars in losses.
Russia denies any involvement in the attack.
The State Department said that in 2020, the six “Sandorm” unit officers were indicted by a federal grand jury in the United States with conspiracy to commit computer fraud and other charges.
It added that it was decided to award a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to “the identification or location of any person who engages, whether directed or under the control of a foreign government, in malicious cyber activities against critical infrastructures of the United States.”