In a time of heightened fears over hacking and cyber security compromises, Russia is now accused of seeking to target specific US citizens with a coordinated attack against its critical domestic Internet infrastructure.
In announcing the operation to combat it, Operation Masquerade, the FBI has explained its approach to cutting off such suspicious access to the commercially available hardware that has been identified as vulnerable. It’s also suggested Americans act to safeguard their own mobile devices.
It’s believed it had a high level of support, indicating that it was meant to benefit the State of Russia in some way, but the outcome may have meant to be more sinister, risking the locations and job specifics of particular individuals, not just their Internet data.
This attempt is seen as an effort to undermine security systems by seeking direct routes to workers that are involved in Intelligence and counter-Intelligence work, mainly by hooking up to their home broadband setups to peek inside.
However, it’s risky to launch such a campaign in the first place, having frustrated many who’ve tried it before and resulting in lengthy legal action because it’s seen as a serious crime by US authorities.
