SSU, FBI, and EU Agencies Expose Russian Espionage Scheme Using Wi-Fi Routers

The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), the FBI, and EU law enforcement agencies have exposed a large-scale espionage operation by Russia’s military intelligence targeting citizens in the EU, the United States, and Ukraine through hacked Wi-Fi routers.

The SSU press service reported on this.

The Security Service, together with the FBI, Polish counterintelligence, and EU agencies, conducted a coordinated cyber operation to disrupt Russian intelligence activity in Ukraine and partner countries.

The investigation found that Russia’s military intelligence hacked office and home Wi-Fi routers belonging to Ukrainian and foreign users.

According to investigators, Russian services targeted devices that did not meet modern security standards.

After gaining access, they routed traffic through a network of DNS servers that translate domain names into IP addresses.

This allowed them to act as intermediaries online and intercept passwords, authentication tokens, and other sensitive data, including email, typically protected by SSL and TLS encryption.

The data was intended for cyberattacks, information operations, and intelligence collection.

Russian services focused in particular on communications involving government employees, military personnel, and defense industry companies.

The joint operation blocked more than 100 servers and removed hundreds of routers from Russian control in Ukraine alone. This significantly reduced Russia’s intelligence capabilities and prevented further disruption of the devices.

Authorities are continuing efforts to identify and prosecute those involved.

The SSU urged router owners to check their device models, ensure the device’s software is up to date, and install the latest security patches.

Previously, it was reported that Russian services had installed surveillance devices in the office of a chief engineer at a Ukrainian defense industry company.