Degtyarenko Denis Olegovich

Degtyarenko Denis Olegovich

Biography

2024: Hit by US sanctions over cyber attack allegations

On July 19, 2024, the US Treasury Department announced the inclusion of two Russians on a cybersecurity-related sanctions list. Denis Degtyarenko and Yulia Pankratova are suspected of involvement in cyber attacks on water supply facilities.

According to statements by the American authorities, Degtyarenko and Pankratova are members of the Cyber ​ ​ Army of Russia Reborn (CARR) hacker group. It is alleged that since 2022, CARR has been conducting DDoS attacks against Ukrainian organizations, as well as against the governments and companies of those countries that support Ukraine. Since the end of 2023, the group, according to the US Treasury, began to declare attacks on industrial control systems for a number of critical infrastructure facilities in the United States and Europe.

In January 2024, CARR took responsibility for overflowing Texas water storage tanks, it said. According to the ministry, this led to the loss of tens of thousands of liters of water. In addition, CARR, according to the US Treasury Department, hacked into the control and data collection system (SCADA) of an American energy company: hackers gained control over alarms and tank pumps. However, as emphasized, these incursions did not cause serious damage, which can be explained by "the lack of technical training from CARR."

The actions of CARR and its members aimed at our critical infrastructure pose an unacceptable threat to citizens and communities with potentially dangerous consequences, "said Brian Nelson, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury for Counterterrorism.

It is emphasized that the United States "has taken and will take measures" to bring these and other persons to justice "for their malicious cyber activities."^[1]

Notes