A U.S. nuclear power facility suffered from cyberattacks that some Russian hackers conducted, the Department of Justice claims.
An engineer from the Israeli company "Commun.it" uses his expertise in social media commercial analysis to identify networks of fake users during at the group's office in the Israeli city of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv on January 23, 2019. - A coalition of Israeli diplomats, programmers and hackers have joined forces to stave off threats.
The U.S. justice agency announced that four Russian nationals were involved in the alarming online attacks. Aside from the nuclear power plant in Kansas, other companies in the energy sector across the globe were also affected.
The DOJ said that the Russian cyberattacks happened between 2012 and 2018. Although these online malicious campaigns did not move forward after 2018, a senior law enforcement official said they led to ongoing threats to critical infrastructure.
U.S. Nuclear Power Facility Attacked by Russian Hackers
According to Bloomberg's latest report, the accused Russian nationals worked with an employee at the U.S. nuclear power factory.
Steam rises out of the nuclear plant on Three Mile Island, with the operational plant run by Exelon Generation, in Middletown, Pennsylvania on March 26, 2019. - Forty years after the partial meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant, John Garver can still recall the smell and a metallic taste in his mouth."It's time to shut it down," said Garver.
Also Read: Google Says Russian-Speaking Hackers Are Behind Phishing Attacks on YouTube Creators
The individual acted as a job insider, helping the malicious actors to install back doors in the company's computer systems. After that, they were able to deploy malware that weakened the facility's cybersecurity.
On the other hand, some Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) employees allegedly targeted other computer systems across the energy sector.
"Russian state-sponsored hackers pose a serious and persistent threat to critical infrastructure both in the U.S. and around the world," said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.
Biden Already Warns US Business Executives
CNN Politics reported that U.S. President Joe Biden had already warned U.S. business executives about the hackers linked to Kremlin.
He added that cyberattacks are likely to happen in the United States since the Russian military is heavily suffering in Ukraine as the conflict between the two countries continues.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation also warned that Russian hackers are scanning private sector networks across five U.S. energy companies.
On the other hand, the Anonymous hacking group claimed that it was able to breach Russia's Central Bank.
Recently, Russia is also believed to be receiving some help from the Conti ransomware group.
For more news updates about security threats and other related topics, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.
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Written by: Griffin Davis
