US accuses Russia of targeting US, European power plants in cyber attacks
16 Mar 2018
The Trump administration yesterday accused Russia of mounting a series of cyberattacks, that targeted US and European nuclear power plants and water and electric systems that could have sabotaged or shut power plants off.
The attacks are being seen by US officials and private security firms as a signal by Moscow that it could disrupt the critical facilities of the west in the event of a conflict.
They added the strikes accelerated in late 2015, at the time of alleged Russian interference in US election. The attackers had compromised a number of operators in North America and Europe by spring 2017, following the inauguration of president Trump.
Over the following months, as per a Department of Homeland Security report issued yesterday, Russian hackers made their way to machines with access to critical control systems at unidentified power plants.
The hackers stopped short of sabotaging or shutting down the computer systems that guide the operations of the plants.
On the basis of new computer screenshots released by the Department of Homeland Security yesterday, it became clear that Russian state hackers had gained the foothold they would have needed to manipulate or shut down power plants.
Meanwhile, US government officials said yesterday that Russian hackers have been conducting a broad assault on the US electric grid, water processing plants, air transportation facilities and other targets in rolling attacks on some of the country’s most sensitive infrastructure.
The announcement comes as the first official confirmation that Russian hackers are targeting facilities on which hundreds of millions of US citizens depend for basic services.
"Since at least March 2016, Russian government cyber actors" have targeted "government entities and multiple US critical infrastructure sectors," including those of energy, nuclear, water and aviation, according to an alert issued yesterday by the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Critical manufacturing sectors and commercial facilities also have been targeted by the ongoing "multi-stage intrusion campaign by Russian government cyber actors."
