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Scrape Timestamp (UTC): 2024-10-17 07:28:53.705
Source: https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/17/anonymous_sudan_arrests_charges/
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Anonymous Sudan isn't any more: two alleged operators named, charged. Gang said to have developed its evilware on GitHub – then DDoSed GitHub. Hacktivist gang Anonymous Sudan appears to have lost its anonymity after the US Attorney's Office on Wednesday unsealed an indictment identifying two of its alleged operators. The indictment [PDF] named Sudanese nationals Ahmed Salah Yousif Omer and Alaa Salah Yusuuf Omer as members of Anonymous Sudan. An accompanying announcement accused the pair of "operating and controlling Anonymous Sudan, an online cyber criminal group responsible for tens of thousands of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against critical infrastructure, corporate networks, and government agencies in the United States and around the world." Both were charged with one count of conspiracy to damage protected computers. Ahmed Salah was also charged with three counts of damaging protected computers. Those charges stem from incidents in the US that saw attacks on the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense, the FBI, the State Department, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Microsoft, and Riot Games. Anonymous Sudan is also thought to have attacked OpenAI, the government of France, and Israeli organizations. The group is believed to have ties to Russia. The announcement revealed that it had already degraded the crew's capabilities by working with the FBI to seize and disable its Distributed Cloud Attack Tool (DCAT), which the group is alleged to have used for its own DDoS attacks. It's further claimed that Anonymous Sudan offered DCAT as a service to other criminal actors. The indictment detailed how the accused chatted with clients and prospects on Telegram channels – sending messages such as "I am carrying out an organized attack on the United States. We can target the airport." After that threat, messages were exchanged that reported on data gathered by internet resource availability monitoring service check-host.net, which was taken as proof that DDoS attacks succeeded. The indictment also alleges that the crew built an API to its wares and developed code using GitHub – and also launched a DDoS against GitHub in January 2024. Rebecca Day of the FBI Anchorage Field Office, the special agent in charge of the matter, said "With the FBI's mix of unique authorities, capabilities, and partnerships, there is no limit to our reach when it comes to combating all forms of cyber crime and defending global cyber security." Per the Washington Post, the two accused were arrested in March but it is not known in which country they were cuffed, nor if extradition has been effected or is possible. Maybe the FBI does have limits, after all.
Daily Brief Summary
The U.S. Justice Department has unmasked and charged two Sudanese nationals, Ahmed Salah Yousif Omer and Alaa Salah Yusuuf Omer, as key members of the hacktivist group Anonymous Sudan.
Both individuals face charges related to orchestrating numerous distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on significant U.S. and global targets including government agencies and major corporations.
Specific attacks cited include attempts against the DOJ, DOD, FBI, State Department, and companies like Microsoft and Riot Games, extending even to entities like Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
The allegation extends to developing and utilizing a tool called Distributed Cloud Attack Tool (DCAT) for conducting DDoS attacks, which the FBI has since disabled in cooperation with other law enforcement.
Anonymous Sudan allegedly offered their DCAT service to other criminal actors, effectively commercializing their DDoS capabilities.
The hackers were reported to have developed part of their software on GitHub and also attacked the platform in a retaliatory DDoS strike.
Arrests of the accused were carried out in March, though details regarding the location or extradition status remain unclear.