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The 235th Garrison Military Court announced the verdict in the case of the Russian cyber troops, the so-called Alexander Stroganov group (Flint). According to the Cheka-OGPU, Flint received a 15-year prison sentence, while the other members of the group received sentences ranging from 8 to 14 years.
Among those convicted was Igor Voroshilov, a former employee of the FSB's Department of Military Counterintelligence (DVKR), who oversaw the activities of Alexei Stroganov's (Flint) hacker group.
The most interesting aspect of Stroganov and his handler's offense is that Flint's group operated at the state level and, in essence, performed the functions of the Russian cyber troops. Stroganov was awarded a certificate from the Director of the FSB for ensuring Russia's cybersecurity and a letter of gratitude from Vladimir Putin for ensuring cybersecurity during the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His hacking activities were also carried out within the framework of state tasks.
The group's history of cooperation with the FSB begins with the former head of the FSB's Information Security Center, Sergei Mikhailov (later convicted of treason).
Mikhailov had taken all more or less reputable hacker groups in Russia under his wing. Among them was the group of the previously convicted Alexei Stroganov (Flint). After Mikhailov's arrest, the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Federation (DVKR) decided to take Flint's group under its wing as a "combat unit" with representatives in the former Soviet Union and Europe. Voroshilov became the curator's representative, and this time under a specific program—a program of financial warfare with the West. The program contained many points. According to the Cheka-OGPU, this included the maximum discrediting of VISA and MasterCard cards, as well as American Express and Discover. A sub-point included creating favorable conditions for clients to switch to MIR and UnionPay cards (apparently, the Chinese side may have had a hand in the "project"). There was also a clause about creating maximum financial stress on Western banks, payment systems, and so on, and pushing residents into the shadow economy.
Access to Flint's group's websites was granted only to foreign citizens from foreign IP addresses. Even the website's technical support was in English. Access within Russia was blocked. The compromised cards were primarily those of American banks.
Flint's group was effectively officially operating within the counterintelligence system, serving as a branch of the very same cyber troops whose mission included "working" with the financial sector.
Clearly, there was no talk of pure "service to the Motherland"; this entire hacking operation, under the auspices of the Russian FSB, brought in enormous sums of money for Flint and his team, as well as his handlers.
In mid-2019, events occurred that may have put an end to Flint's group. That summer, US President Donald Trump met with Putin at the G20 summit. It is known that some closed negotiations subsequently took place between the Russian and American sides, during which the latter handed over information about members of Flint's group and their handlers. It is unclear what the US promised in return, but unexpectedly, the highest levels of Russia decided to press ahead with the materials.
As a result, all members of Flint's team were arrested. Their handler, Voroshilov, was also detained in Vladikavkaz.
Incidentally, it appears the Americans fulfilled their promise. At least, even Yevgeny Prigozhin failed to resolve the situation with Flint. At one point, he gained virtually unlimited power to recruit prisoners for war. According to the Cheka-OGPU, the owner of the Wagner PMC tried to acquire Flint and part of his team to bolster his personal cyber forces. But he was categorically refused.