US officials say cyber attackers penetrated the control rooms of some power companies.
The news: According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has revealed that a Russia-backed hacker group hit hundreds of targets last year. The group, dubbed Energetic Bear, even managed to get into some power companies’ networks that were “air-gapped”, or isolated from the internet.
The ruse: The hackers snuck in by targeting trusted suppliers to the utilities. Once inside their systems, they then found ways into the power firms’ networks. According to a DHS official, the cyber attackers “got to the point where they could have thrown switches.”
Why this matters: The US has been warning for some time that Russia is intent on compromising everything from its energy grids to the electoral process, and the DHS believes Energetic Bear is still on the hunt for more targets.
The news: According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has revealed that a Russia-backed hacker group hit hundreds of targets last year. The group, dubbed Energetic Bear, even managed to get into some power companies’ networks that were “air-gapped”, or isolated from the internet.
The ruse: The hackers snuck in by targeting trusted suppliers to the utilities. Once inside their systems, they then found ways into the power firms’ networks. According to a DHS official, the cyber attackers “got to the point where they could have thrown switches.”
Why this matters: The US has been warning for some time that Russia is intent on compromising everything from its energy grids to the electoral process, and the DHS believes Energetic Bear is still on the hunt for more targets.
—Martin Giles
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