WASHINGTON – Russian hackers gained access to the networks of U.S.electric utilities last year, which could have allowed them to causeblackouts, according to federal government officials, who said the campaignis likely continuing, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
The hackers, who worked for a Russian state-sponsored group known asDragonfly or Energetic Bear, claimed “hundreds of victims” in 2017,according to officials at the Department of Homeland Security, the Journalreported.
Hackers used conventional tools such as spear-phishing emails andwatering-hole attacks that trick victims into entering their passwords andthen gained access to corporate networks of suppliers, which allowed thehackers to steal credentials and gain access to utility networks, thereport on.wsj.com/2LxBrtZ said.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request forcomment outside regular business hours.
DHS plans to conduct four briefings and is searching for evidence on theRussians attempting to automate their attacks, the report said.Investigators cited by the WSJ said was it was not clear whether this wasdone by the hackers in preparation for a bigger future attack.
The report comes amid increasing cyber-tensions between Moscow andWashington. A federal grand jury in the U.S. indicted 12 Russianintelligence officers earlier in July on charges of hacking the computernetworks of 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and theDemocratic Party.