FBI Says Russian Hackers Scanning US Energy Systems, pose 'Current' Threat’

"The threat from Russia in a criminal sense, in the nation state sense, is very, very real.”

By Reuters | Updated: 30 March 2022 19:16 IST

FBI Says Russian Hackers Scanning US Energy Systems, pose 'Current' Threat’

Photo Credit: Reuters

The US President warned against cyberattacks on certain critical infrastructure in 2021

Highlights

The FBI has warned of Russians scanning the systems of energy companies
Russia is said to be working on launching cyberattacks on US targets
Such activity is said to represent a "reconnaissance phase" by Russia

Russian hackers have been scanning the systems of energy companies and other critical infrastructure in the United States, and state-sponsored hacking by Russia presents a "current" threat to American national security, a top FBI official told lawmakers on Tuesday.

"The threat from Russia in a criminal sense, in the nation state sense, is very, very real — and current," said Bryan Vorndran, an assistant director in the FBI's cyber division, during a hearing before a US House of Representatives panel.

In the weeks since Russia's unprovoked attack against Ukraine, the White House and the Justice Department have been warning US companies about intelligence suggesting that Russia has been taking early steps toward possibly launching cyberattacks.

Ukraine Facing Internet Disruption After ‘Powerful’ Cyberattack

Vorndran told lawmakers that "instances of Russian scanning" networks in the US energy sector have increased recently, and he said such activity represents a "reconnaissance phase" by Russia to try and understand a company's defences and whether it has vulnerabilities that could be exploited.

"It's an extremely important part of the overall attacks," he noted, adding later in his testimony that Russia represents "one of the two most capable cyber adversaries we face globally," and is "a formidable foe."

Last year, well before Russia's attack on Ukraine, US President Joe Biden openly warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that certain critical infrastructure should be "off-limits" to cyberattacks.

US President Joe Biden Warns Companies of Potential Russian Cyberattacks

That warning applied to 16 different kinds of infrastructure - an apparent reference to the 16 sectors designated as critical by the US Homeland Security Department, including telecommunications, healthcare, food and energy.

Since that time Vorndran told lawmakers he was aware of software companies, among others who have been targeted with attacks.

"There are compromises against some of those 16 critical infrastructure sectors," he said. "I can't speak specifically to which ones."

© Thomson Reuters 2022

Will the 2022 iPhone SE sink or swim? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.