US offers $10M bounty for Russian state hackers who targeted 500 energy companies
The State Department's Rewards for Justice program is hunting three FSB officers linked to cyberattacks on nuclear facilities and energy infrastructure across 135 countries.
The US government is putting a $10 million price tag on three Russian intelligence officers it accuses of orchestrating some of the most brazen cyberattacks on global energy infrastructure in recent memory. The Department of State’s Rewards for Justice program announced the bounty on September 3, targeting FSB officers Marat Valeryevich Tyukov, Mikhail Mikhailovich Gavrilov, and Pavel Aleksandrovich Akulov.
The trio allegedly compromised more than 500 energy companies across 135 countries. Their targets reportedly included the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation, which operates a nuclear power plant in Kansas.
Years-long campaign against critical infrastructure
The charges against the three FSB officers aren’t new. The US originally brought criminal indictments in March 2022, covering computer intrusions and wire fraud tied to operations conducted between 2012 and 2017. What’s new is the escalation to a public bounty, effectively turning every informant on the planet into a potential intelligence asset.
The officers are connected to FSB military Unit 71330, a cyber operations outfit that the security community tracks under colorful names like Berserk Bear and Blue Kraken.
A pattern of escalating cyber bounties
This isn’t an isolated move. The Rewards for Justice program has been steadily ramping up its use of public bounties as a weapon against state-sponsored hackers. In June 2025, a comparable $10 million reward was issued for Russian hackers linked to the RedLine infostealer malware.
The $10 million figure has become something of a standard rate for top-tier cyber targets. The US has deployed similar bounties against both Russian and Iranian state-linked cyber actors in prior years.
What this means for crypto and tech investors
This particular case doesn’t involve cryptocurrency or blockchain technology in any direct way. The hackers weren’t stealing crypto. The bounty isn’t being paid in Bitcoin. There’s no DeFi protocol in the crosshairs.
When high-profile cybersecurity announcements don’t drag crypto into the conversation, it suggests a maturing understanding within government agencies about the distinction between the technology criminals sometimes use and the criminals themselves.