Russia arrests hacker accused of preventing electronic voting during local election

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced that it had detained a Moscow resident for conducting distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks during local elections in September, targeting infrastructure in the capital and the Moscow region.

According to the agency’s press service, the 61-year-old suspect used Ukraine-made software to carry out the DDoS attacks on Russia’s critical information infrastructure. His activity coincided with the regional parliamentary and municipal elections.

The FSB reported that the hacker had installed Ukrainian software on his personal device and attacked, among others, the IP addresses of an internet provider in the Moscow region. The attack disrupted the provider’s systems, "preventing the company from providing internet access to customers and hindering voters from participating in remote electronic voting," the agency said.

Russian law enforcement said they are currently working to identify the suspect’s accomplices. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison or be sentenced to forced labor, according to Russia’s criminal code.

The FSB has not disclosed which Ukrainian software the suspect used or whether he was affiliated with any hacker group. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago, many pro-Ukraine hackers have developed their own DDoS toolkits, which they offer for free to anyone willing to target Russia. The attacks work by flooding targeted systems with junk traffic to make them temporarily unreachable.

Along with the software, these hackers often provide detailed instructions — or even video lessons — making it easy for people without coding skills to join the digital fight.

Although it’s unclear if the suspect has ties to Ukraine, it would not be the first time Russia has prosecuted its own citizens for aiding that country. In August, the FSB opened a criminal case against a Moscow-based scientist accused of carrying out DDoS attacks on behalf of Ukraine’s intelligence agency. He was charged with treason and faces the possibility of a life sentence if convicted.

Last October, Russian law enforcement arrested a local tech student who allegedly assisted the Ukrainian hacker group known as the Cyber Anarchy Squad in launching cyberattacks against Russia.

In February, a 49-year-old Russian national was charged with launching a cyberattack on a local power plant, causing a blackout in dozens of settlements. Last year, three residents of Rostov-on-Don were sentenced to prison or fined for carrying out DDoS attacks against Russian websites.

Ukraine is also prosecuting individuals accused of aiding Russia. However, most Ukrainian reports focus on local citizens suspected of spreading Russian disinformation or helping the Russian military locate Ukrainian forces and assess damage to critical infrastructure caused by missile strikes.