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U.S. NEWS Thursday 16 March 2017
Russian agents, hackers charged in massive Yahoo breach

Continued from front tive assistant director, said
the bureau had had only
“I hope they will respect “limited cooperation with
our criminal justice system,” that element of the Russian
McCord said. government in the past,”
The indictment identifies noting that prior U.S. de-
Dokuchaev and Sushchin mands to turn over Belan
as officers of the Russian had been ignored.
Federal Security Service, Though the U.S. gov-
or FSB. Belan and Baratov ernment has previously
were paid hackers direct- charged individual Russian
ed by the FSB to break into hackers with cybercrime —
the accounts, prosecutors as well as hackers directly
said. linked to the Chinese and
Dokuchaev has been in Iranian governments — this
custody in Russia since his is the first criminal case to
arrest on treason charg- name as defendants sit-
es in December, along ting members of the FSB for
with his superior and sev- hacking charges, the Jus-
eral others. Russian media tice Department said.
have reported that Do- U.S. intelligence authorities
kuchaev and his superior have concluded that Rus-
were accused of passing FBI Executive Director Paul Abbate, right, accompanied by Acting Assistant Attorney General sian intelligence agencies
sensitive information to Mary McCord, center, and U.S. Attorney for the Northern District Brian Stretch, speaks during a were behind hacking ef-
the CIA. The media reports news conference at the Justice Department in Washington, Wednesday, March 15, 2017. The Jus- forts of Democratic email
tice Department announced charges against four defendants, two Russian intelligence agents
also have contended that and a pair of hired hackers, for a mega data breach at Yahoo. accounts in last year’s
Dokuchaev was arrested (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) election. q
by the FSB several years
ago and offered a choice: Yahoo revealed it had un-
serve a long prison sen- covered a separate hack
tence on hacking charges in 2013 affecting about 1
or sign a contract to work billion accounts, including
for the agency. some that were also hit in
The FSB hasn’t comment- 2014. U.S. officials said it
ed, and the Justice De- was especially galling that
partment did not confirm the scheme involved offi-
that. Yahoo didn’t disclose cers from a Russian coun-
the breach until last Sep- terespionage service that
tember when it began no- theoretically should be
tifying hundreds of millions working collaboratively
of users that their email with its FBI counterparts.
addresses, birth dates, an- “Rather than do that type
swers to security questions of work, they actually
and other personal infor- turned against that type of
mation may have been work,” McCord said.
stolen. Three months later, Paul Abbate, an FBI execu-

Plea deal reached for man who

fired shots inside a DC pizzeria

Associated Press ing a crime of violence.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Terms of the plea were not
man who police say fired discussed. Welch’s public
an assault weapon inside defender, Dani Jahn, and
a Washington pizza shop the U.S. Attorney’s Office in
as he sought to investigate Washington declined com-
phony rumors of child sex ment. After lawyers asked
trafficking has reached for more time to complete
a plea deal with federal paperwork, U.S. District
prosecutors. At a status Judge Ketanji B. Jackson
hearing Wednesday in U.S. scheduled a plea hearing
District Court in Washing- for March 24. Authorities
ton, lawyers said they have say Welch caused panic
reached a plea deal in by firing multiple shots in-
principle for 28-year-old side the Comet Ping Pong
Edgar Maddison Welch of restaurant on Dec. 4, after
Salisbury, North Carolina. driving from North Carolina
Welch would face up to 10 to investigate a conspiracy
years in prison if convicted theory about high-profile
of interstate transportation Democrats harboring child
of a firearm, assault with a sex slaves, with the pizza
dangerous weapon and shop connected in some
possessing a firearm dur- way.q