WASHINGTON: ​The US Justice Department said on Tuesday it carried out a court-authorized disruption of a DNS hijacking network controlled ‌by a ‌Russian military intelligence ​unit.

The ‌network ⁠was ​operated by ⁠Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff (GRU) Military Unit 26165, the department said in a ⁠statement.

It added that ‌the ‌GRU used routers ​to ‌facilitate hijacking operations against ‌worldwide targets, including individuals in military, government and critical infrastructure sectors.

“GRU actors ‌compromised routers in the US and around ⁠the world, ⁠hijacking them to conduct espionage. Given the scale of this threat, sounding the alarm wasn’t enough,” said Brett Leatherman, the assistant director of the FBI’s ​Cyber ​Division.