The Russia connectionU.S. Cyber Command cut Russian troll factory’s access to the internet

Published 27 February 2019

The U.S. Cyber Command blocked the internet access of the St. Petersburg’s-based Internet Research Agency (IRA), a Russian disinformation and propaganda outfit which was contracted by the Kremlin to orchestrate the social media disinformation campaign to help Donald Trump win the 2016 presidential election. The IRA’s access to the internet was blocked on midterms Election Day, and for a few days following the election.

55 Savushinka Street, home of Russia's Internet Research Agency // Source: wikipedia.org

The Washington Post is reporting that the U.S. Cyber Command blocked the internet access of the St. Petersburg’s-based Internet Research Agency (IRA), a Russian disinformation and propaganda firm which was contracted by the Kremlin to orchestrate the social media disinformation campaign on behalf of Donald Trump in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.

The IRA’s social media campaign, and the hacking campaign by the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence, secured Trump’s victory in the election.

The Post, citing unnamed security officials, the newspaper reported that U.S. Cyber Command cut off the IRA’s internet access on Election Day in November 2018 and for a few days afterward.

“They basically took the IRA offline,” according to one individual familiar with the matter who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss classified information. “They shut them down.”

The Russian media did not reported on the alleged outage, and there was no public statement from Russian government officials.

Cyber Command was created by President Barack Obama in 2009. The Command shares quarters with the National Security Agency (NSA), and since its inception, the commander of Cyber Commands served simultaneously as the director of the NSA.

The IRA, owned by the Kremlin-connected oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, has been involved in the Kremlin’s political meddling campaigns in twenty-seven countries in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

In 2018, Special Counsel Robert Mueller bought an indictment against the agency, along with Prigozhin and two other firms controlled by Prigozhin

The reported move by Cyber Command was part of other efforts by the United States to increase the deterrent effects of its cyber capabilities, which independent experts say are formidable.

In late 2018, Cyber Command reportedly sent troops to Montenegro, Macedonia, and Ukraine to provide cybersecurity assistance and collect samples of malware that has been designed by Russian military intelligence, the GRU.

The operation to block the IRA from accessing the internet marked the first muscle-flexing by U.S. Cyber Command, with intelligence from the National Security Agency, under new authorities it was granted last year to bolster offensive capabilities.

The Post notes that two new U.S. authorities facilitated the move against the Internet Research Agency. A presidential order in August gave Cybercom greater latitude to undertake offensive operations below the level of armed conflict — actions that would not result in death, significant damage or destruction. And a provision in the National Defense Authorization