How A Handful Of Russian Techies Pulled One Of The Biggest Online Heists In History

More than 500 million users were affected by the Yahoo hack in 2014, but this massive heist wasn’t perpetrated by a team of cyber warriors. It was the brainchild of a couple Russian intelligence agents and their two hacker recruits.

The hack was one of the largest data breaches in world history, and the subsequent indictments associated with it mark the first time the U.S. has charged Russian intelligence officers for a cyber crime.

“The involvement and direction of FSB officers with law enforcement responsibilities make this conduct that much more egregious,” said Acting Assistant Attorney Gen. Mary McCord in a statement Wednesday. “There are no free passes for foreign state-sponsored criminal behavior.”