Authorities arrested seven people allegedly involved in the operation and seized 1,200 SIM boxes containing 40,000 active SIM cards.

The notorious Israeli spyware was used to target journalists often working in exile from their authoritarian home countries, report finds. 

The wiper could add to the woes of a country increasingly under physical and cyber assault.

“These types of tactics are readily deployable elsewhere," said FireEye's Lee Foster.

A new report from FireEye does not attribute the effort to the Russian government, though the motives are consistent.

The agreement comes as the ex-Soviet countries look to disentangle themselves from Russian electric infrastructure.

“Ruslan Bondars helped malware developers attack American businesses,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski.

At one time, Peteris Sahurovs was among the FBI's most wanted criminals.

Ruslan Bondars was convicted by a federal jury on three charges for running the underground service.

Another election, another information campaign with Russian ties.