France has officially attributed offensive cyber activities against France and Europe using the Turla Intrusion Set to FSB 16th Center, also known as military unit 71330 or “Center for Radio-Electronic Intelligence of Communications”.
Long-Standing Cyber Espionnage Campaigns using Turla Intrusion Set
On 13th July 2016 and ahead of the first Military Parade gathering countries belonging to the Coalition of the Willing engaged with Ukraine on the war, France has publicly attributed long-standing cyber espionnage campaigns to Russia. The attribution focusing on cyber malign activities against France reveals compromission of the French Ministry of Defense and French Ministry of Foreign Affairs using the Turla Intrusion Set whose techniques, tactics and procedures (TTPs) overlap with similar documented actors named Secret Blizzard, Venomous Bear, Pensive Ursa, Pacifier, or Waterbug. According to commercial analysis, Turla has been active since 2008 against governments, defense, telecoms, and embassies. It has been very active since the start of the war in Ukraine.
FSB Unit 61240 tasked on targetting France
Long-known for being linked to the FSB 16th Center, France reveals that the attacks are carried out by eleven other military units to conduct this offensive cyber campaigns.
The FSB 16th Center (Unit 71330) is Russia’s premier signals intelligence (SIGINT) and cryptanalysis organization, tracing its origins to the Soviet KGB’s 16th Directorate established in 1973 and inheriting decades of communications interception and codebreaking expertise.
Following the dissolution of the Federal Agency of Government Communications and Information (FAPSI) in 2003, it became the FSB’s central SIGINT and cyber-operations unit, reportedly overseeing advanced cyber-espionage campaigns under the direct authority of the FSB Director. It is currently headed by Dimitri Vladimirovich Ivanov.
French authorities has disclosed that Military Unit 61240 is specifically tasked on targeting France. Unit 67240, also known as the 23rd Special Communications Center, is one of the FSB’s oldest SIGINT facilities, tracing its origins to 1940 under the NKVD before passing through the KGB and FAPSI to become part of today’s FSB. Based near Krasnoye Selo, southwest of Saint Petersburg, its strategic location close to the Estonian and Finnish borders makes it well positioned to intercept SATCOM and high-frequency (HF) communications across Northern Europe. The unit’s insignia unusually reveals its institutional history, headquarters, and technical infrastructure, highlighting its long-standing role in Russian signals intelligence.
Closely linked to Russian defense contractors such as AO AST and NPP Gamma, Unit 67240 is assessed to play a key role in the FSB’s SIGINT collection and offensive cyber activities targeting France and other European countries.
The unit is commanded by Grishchenko Alexander Sergeevich. Online, the unit has a strong veteran community
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