"'Marriages of Convenience' Between State Actors and Cybercriminals Provide Cover for Both"
Intelligence services in countries such as Russia, North Korea, and China have leveraged ad hoc relationships with cybercriminal groups within their borders for some time to shield their organizations from the repercussions of their actions. However, recent successes by authorities in the US and elsewhere have demonstrated that even this strategy does not put actors beyond the reach of law enforcement. According to Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, there is a blended threat between state actors and cybercriminals establishing marriages of convenience, with intelligence services using criminal groups for deniability. These relationships may not be formal or well-defined, but they can be significant for both parties. Using cybercrime groups as cover-ups or collaborating partners provides foreign intelligence services with a bit of deniability while also enabling them to direct the operation and benefit from it. This article continues to discuss the relationships of convenience between state actors and cybercriminals.
Submitted by grigby1