U.S. charges 4 Russian government officials over two prior hacking campaigns

U.S. charges 4 Russian government officials over two prior hacking campaigns


U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks at the Department of Justice, in advance of the one year anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022.

Carolyn Kaster | Pool | Reuters

The U.S. unveiled criminal charges against four Russian government officials on Thursday, saying that between 2012 and 2018 they engaged in two major hacking campaigns that targeted the global energy sector and impacted thousands of computers across 135 countries.

In one now-unsealed indictment from June 2021, the Justice Department accused Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh, a Russian Ministry of Defense research institute employee, of conspiring with others between May and September 2017 to hack the systems of a foreign refinery and install malware known as “Triton” on a safety system produced by Schneider Electric.

In a second unsealed indictment from August 2021, the Justice Department said three other alleged hackers from Russia’s Federal Security Service carried out cyber attacks on the computer networks of oil and gas firms, nuclear power plants, and utility and power transmission companies across the world.

The three accused Russians in that case are Pavel Aleksandrovich Akulov, 36, Mikhail Mikhailovich Gavrilov, 42, and Marat Valeryevich Tyukov, 39.

The 2017 attack stunned the cybersecurity community when it was made public by researchers later that year because – unlike typical digital intrusions aimed at stealing data or holding it for ransom – it appeared aimed at causing physical damage to the facility itself by disabling its safety system.

An FBI official told reporters on Thursday that these cases underscore the continued threat posed by Russian cyber operations and urged companies to “lock their cyber doors.”

Among the victim companies that assisted with the Justice Department’s investigation are Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation and the Kansas Electric Power Cooperative, the department said.



Source

Samsung and Google attempt to one-up Apple with AI-powered headset
World

Samsung and Google attempt to one-up Apple with AI-powered headset

Samsung Galaxy XR Headset Courtesy: Samsung It’s been more than 17 years since the modern smartphone era began with the launch of the iPhone, and tech companies have been obsessed with trying to disrupt it ever since. The most common approach is mixed reality XR headsets: computerized goggles that put all of your apps and […]

Read More
Asia markets fall as investors assess Japan trade data; SoftBank plunges over 10%
World

Asia markets fall as investors assess Japan trade data; SoftBank plunges over 10%

Mount Fuji and the Shinjuku skyline in Tokyo, Japan, on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Asia-Pacific markets fell Wednesday as investors assessed trade data from Japan and its new government. Japanese exports in September snapped four months of declines, climbing 4.2% year on year, […]

Read More
Japan’s shipments to the U.S. continue to tumble despite trade deal — overall exports rebound
World

Japan’s shipments to the U.S. continue to tumble despite trade deal — overall exports rebound

YOKOHAMA, KANAGAWA, JAPAN – 2025/08/28: A loaded container ship is docked inside Tokyo Bay. Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images Japanese exports in September snapped four months of declines, climbing 4.2% year on year, as shipments to Asia saw robust growth, partially offsetting the drop in exports to the U.S. Exports, however, missed expectations […]

Read More