The FSB recruited Belan in part by providing him with information that helped him avoid detection by law enforcement, according to the indictment. The manoeuvre, appetizingly called “cookie minting,” allowed them to read the contents of some 6,500 Yahoo accounts without even needing a password or username. Many of the targets were Russian: journalists, employees of a Russian cybersecurity company, and officials, even someone described as a physical training expert working in the Ministry of Sports. Baratov was paid to gain access to 80 email accounts, including 50 Google accounts, according to the indictment. There are countries that have extradition treaties with the United States and we will take advantage of that,” he said.

Source: Mint March 16, 2017 06:00 UTC