EU Exposes Large-Scale Russian Cyber Campaign and Imposes Sanctions on Hackers and General Staff Officers

The European Union has exposed Russia’s malicious cyber activities and its use of a cyber ecosystem—encompassing both state and non-state actors—directed against member states.

This was reported by European Pravda.

The EU stated that the 16th Center of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) controls a number of groups that pose a cyber threat to European countries, including the Turla group.

Russian attacks were aimed at infiltrating government networks and sabotaging critical infrastructure in France, Germany, Poland, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Austria, Slovakia, Romania, and Finland.

It is known that the FSB’s 16th Center has been conducting cyberespionage against French government agencies since 2010 and has been targeting the French defense industry since 2025. In Germany, this unit targeted government agencies, and in Poland, it carried out sabotage operations against critical infrastructure, particularly thermal power plants.

In response to these actions, the EU is imposing sanctions on nine individuals and four organizations, including officers of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, cybercriminals, hacktivists, and companies linked to Russia.

In connection with the large-scale cyber campaign against European countries, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to summon the Russian ambassador in Paris.

Also, on Monday, the German Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador to express its condemnation of the Russian cyberattack campaign.