The US Department of Justice announced Tuesday that it had disrupted "complex" software used by Russian intelligence over twenty years to spy in 50 countries.
Among these states are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
According to US officials, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has succeeded in planting the "Snake" or "Europoros" software on computers around the world, with a focus on government networks, research facilities, journalists, and other targets.
The US Justice Department said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation( FBI) managed to neutralize the software during a year-long operation by manipulating its code.
"Through a high-tech operation, the Russian malware attacked itself, after US law enforcement authorities neutralized one of Russia's most sophisticated cyber-espionage tools used for two decades to advance Russia's authoritarian goals," a statement from the ministry quoted Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco as saying.
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