Oct 3 (Reuters) - The United States has seized 41

internet domains used by Russian intelligence agents and their

proxies to hack into government agencies including the Pentagon

and State Department, the Justice Department said on Thursday.

The department in a statement said it had acted concurrently

with a Microsoft ( MSFT ) effort to take down 66 internet

domains used by the same actors. The seized domains were used by

hackers linked to a unit of the Russian Federal Security

Service.

"The Russian government ran this scheme to steal Americans'

sensitive information, using seemingly legitimate email accounts

to trick victims into revealing account credentials," said

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.

The hackers had used the domains in a spear-phishing

campaign aimed at getting access to information from U.S.

companies, former employees of the U.S. intelligence community,

former and current Department of Defense and State Department

employees, U.S. military defense contractors, and staff at the

Department of Energy, the DOJ said.

The seized domains were used by hackers belonging to the

"Callisto Group" and its partners, which the DOJ described as a

unit within the FSB. The group, also known as "Cold River" or

"Star Blizzard", first appeared on the radar of intelligence

professionals after it targeted Britain's foreign office in

2016.

The Russian embassy did not immediately respond to a request

for comment.

In December 2023, the DOJ announced charges against two

hackers affiliated with Cold River for a campaign to hack into

computer networks in the U.S., the UK, other NATO members, and

Ukraine.