UK says Russian intelligence behind sustained attempts to meddle in British democracy

Russia’s intelligence services targeted high-profile British politicians, civil servants and journalists with cyberespionage and “malicious cyberactivity” as part of sustained attempts to interfere in UK political processes, Britain’s government says.

The Foreign Office said Russia’s FSB agency was responsible for a range of cyberespionage operations in the UK, including targeting British parliamentarians from multiple parties and “high-profile individuals and entities” from at least 2015, and selectively leaking and amplifying sensitive information to serve Russian interests.

Foreign Office minister Leo Docherty tells lawmakers that a cybergroup known as “Star Blizzard,” which British cybersecurity officials believe to be “almost certainly subordinate” to an FSB unit, created false identities to impersonate legitimate contacts and compromise email accounts in the public sector.

“Russia’s attempts to interfere in UK politics are completely unacceptable and seek to threaten our democratic processes,” Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in a statement. “Despite their repeated efforts, they have failed.”