U.S. disrupts Russian military-run DNS hijacking network, Justice Department says

‌The U.S. Justice Department ​said on ⁠Tuesday (April 7, 2026) it carried out a court-authorised disruption of a ‌DNS hijacking network controlled by ‌a Russian military intelligence ‌unit. The ⁠network was ⁠operated by Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate of the General ​Staff (GRU) Military ‌Unit 26165, the department said in a statement.

It added that the ‌GRU used routers ​to facilitate hijacking operations against worldwide ⁠targets, including individuals in military, government and critical ‌infrastructure sectors. “GRU actors compromised routers in the U.S. and around the world, hijacking them to ‌conduct espionage.

Given the ​scale of this threat, sounding the alarm ⁠wasn’t enough,” said Brett Leatherman, ⁠the assistant director of the ‌FBI’s Cyber Division.