The U.S. Department of State announces a reward of up to $10 million for information that could help identify or locate members of two Russian state-backed hacking groups accused of targeting users of Signal and WhatsApp. Multiple outlets report that the State Department is offering the funding as part of an effort to support investigations into the reported activity.
The groups are identified in reporting as UNC5792 and UNC4221. Bleeping Computer and other outlets describe them as being linked to Russia’s intelligence and military services. Ars Technica reports that the campaign has been ongoing since at least March, while the State Department’s announcement frames the reward around information that may facilitate attribution or discovery of individuals involved.
The announcement does not indicate that any members have been arrested or that the campaign has been stopped. It also does not provide additional technical details in the excerpts beyond the focus on identifying or locating those responsible for the hacking operation targeting Signal and WhatsApp users. The reward offer is presented as a call for actionable information relevant to the groups’ operations.
