Whoopsie...
In early October Russia's hacking activity had the covers pulled back on it after big announcements by European allies with specific details of Russian backed hacking attempts.
And the United States revealed even more, which SecureWorld reported on: Like a Spy Movie: How Russia Hacked Its Olympic Enemies.
Now, two online investigative journalism sites have uncovered something else. The sites say they sought to confirm the identities of the spies being accused by the west.
That lead them down a digital alleyway, of sorts, where they not only confirmed those identities but also believe they uncovered vehicle registrations and the related identities of more than 300 alleged Russian spies, whom all register their vehicles to their publicly known office address.
Bellingcat.com reports:
"By searching for other vehicles registered to the same address, Bellingcat was able to produce a list of 305 individuals who operated cars registered to the same address. The individuals range in age from 27 to 53 years of age.
The database contains their full names and passport numbers, as well as — in most cases — mobile telephone numbers. Besides the physical street address, the address entry points out the specific Military Unit: 26165. This is the same unit as the one identified in the United States Department of Justice indictments that were also announced on October 4, 2018."
When western law enforcement agencies were announcing all the hacking details and indictments against Russian hackers, many on social media wondered what the point of it was.
Perhaps it was an effort to share what governments could confirm in hopes private citizens would fill in some of the blanks.
If the investigative sites are correct, they may have just filled in 305 blanks that the west can use to battle back against Russia's hacking campaigns.
[Related: 20 Tricks Used by Russia in the DNC Hack]