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The US Department of Justice has announced new charges against Ukrainian national Victoria Eduardovna Dubranova over alleged support for Russian state-backed cyberattacks on critical infrastructure.
Prosecutors say Dubranova, 33, worked with two pro-Russia hacking groups, CyberArmyofRussia_Reborn (CARR) and NoName057(16), which investigators describe as closely aligned with the Russian government. Authorities accuse her of helping these groups coordinate cyber campaigns that targeted public utilities, government systems, and other key services in the United States and abroad.
Dubranova already faced US charges in a separate case when authorities extradited her earlier this year over alleged support for another Russian-linked hacking operation. She has entered not-guilty pleas in both federal cases and now awaits trial on the new counts.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg said the indictments form part of a broader effort to disrupt Russian cyber activity conducted either by state agencies or proxy groups that advance Moscow’s geopolitical aims.
Prosecutors say CARR operated under the direction of Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU. According to the Justice Department, the group claimed responsibility for hundreds of cyber incidents worldwide, including intrusions targeting industrial control systems at US water facilities.
Authorities link the group to a cyberattack against a public drinking water system in Texas and to intrusions at a meat processing facility in Los Angeles, as well as attempts against US election-related infrastructure and nuclear regulatory websites.
The charges against Dubranova include conspiracy to tamper with public water systems. The FBI’s cyber division noted that this marks the first use of that specific federal statute in a cybercrime case. Officials declined to disclose operational details of the alleged intrusion, but they stressed growing concerns around the vulnerability of small utilities that rely on outdated or poorly protected systems.
Investigators say NoName057(16), also known as NoName, operates as a state-sanctioned project set up under a Russian presidential order. The group allegedly focuses on Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks against government agencies, financial institutions, transport infrastructure, and other high-visibility targets.
According to court documents, members of NoName received payments in cryptocurrency for taking part in DDoS campaigns. Both CARR and NoName allegedly used digital assets not only to reward participants but also to fund infrastructure, including DDoS-as-a-service subscriptions and bespoke attack tools.
Blockchain analysis firms say such payment patterns show how Russia-aligned hacking groups rely on crypto wallets and donation channels to sustain operations. However, they also note that blockchain records can give investigators valuable leads for tracking networks, mapping money flows, and linking online personas to real-world identities.
Dubranova faces up to 27 years in federal prison if a jury convicts her on the CARR-related counts, including water system tampering, access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft. She faces an additional potential sentence of up to five years for alleged involvement with NoName’s campaigns. Trials related to each case are scheduled for early next year.
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