Kremlin appoints cyber executive with alleged GRU ties to Security Council role

Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed a former cybersecurity executive with alleged ties to a Russian military intelligence hacking unit as an aide to the secretary of Russia’s Security Council.

Andrei Kozlov, the former head of a cybersecurity center within Russia’s state-owned defense conglomerate Rostec, was named an aide to Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu on Friday. 

According to leaked data published by independent Russian outlet The Insider, Kozlov held a classified security clearance under Military Unit 26165 — also known as the 85th Main Special Service Center — which Western governments and cybersecurity firms have linked to the hacking group Fancy Bear.

Read more at The Record