DHS: Russian hackers got into control rooms of US utilities

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Source: The Hill

Russian hackers were able to penetrate the control rooms of hundreds of U.S. utilities last year as part of a campaign against power company vendors that could be ongoing, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials told the Journal that hackers working for a state-sponsored group known as Dragonfly or Energetic Bear were able to get inside the networks of U.S. utilities to the point that they could have disrupted power service and caused blackouts.

“They got to the point where they could have thrown switches” said Jonathan Homer, chief of industrial-control-system analysis for DHS.

The department did not disclose which companies were victimized by the hacks, but indicated there were hundreds affected by the breach. Other companies reportedly may still be unaware they were part of the breach because the hackers may have broke in using employee credentials.



Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/398480-dhs-russian-hackers-got-into-control-rooms-of-us-utilities