"Hackers working for Russia claimed “hundreds of victims” last year in a giant and long-running campaign that put them inside the control rooms of U.S. electric utilities where they could have caused blackouts, federal officials said. They said the campaign likely is continuing.
The Russian hackers, who worked for a shadowy state-sponsored group previously identified as Dragonfly or Energetic Bear, broke into supposedly secure, “air-gapped” or isolated networks owned by utilities with relative ease by first penetrating the networks of key vendors who had trusted relationships with the power companies, said officials at the Department of Homeland Security.
“They got to the point where they could have thrown switches” and disrupted power flows, said Jonathan Homer, chief of industrial-control-system analysis for DHS.
DHS has been warning utility executives with security clearances about the Russian group’s threat to critical infrastructure since 2014. "
Rebecca Smith reports for the Wall Street Journal July 23, 2018.
SEE ALSO:
"Russian Hackers Targeted Control Systems For Electric Utilities, Homeland Security Says" (NBC News)
"Russian Hackers 'Penetrated The Networks Of U.S. Electric Utilities'" (Thomson Reuters)
"Russian Hackers 'Could Have Caused Electricity Blackouts’ in the U.S." (Newsweek)
"US Intelligence Chief: 'The Warning Lights Are Blinking Red Again' On Cyberattacks" (CNN)
"DHS Warning: Russians Probing Deeper into U.S. Power Grid" (Power Engineering)
"Russian Hackers Infiltrated Utility Control Rooms, DHS Says" (Utility Dive)
"U.S. Intel Chief Warns Of Devastating Cyber Threat To U.S. Infrastructure" (Reuters)
"U.S. Intel Chief Warns Of Devastating Cyber Threat To U.S. Infrastructure. " (EHN)
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