“Given the size of Russia’s cybercrime underworld, it was not long before the military considered recruiting those it described as ‘hackers who have problems with the law.’
In an article titled ‘Enlisted Hacker’ in Rossiiskaya Gazeta, the government newspaper, a deputy minister of defense, Gen. Oleg Ostapenko, said the science squadrons might include hackers with criminal histories. ‘From the point of view of using scientific potential, this is a matter for discussion,’ he was quoted as saying in 2013.”
Source: How Russia Recruited Elite Hackers for Its Cyberwar – NYTimes.com