U.S. Indicts Four Russian Officials for Global Energy Sector Cyberattacks
The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted four Russian government employees for a series of cyberattacks targeting the global energy sector between 2012 and 2018. The attacks, carried out by the Dragonfly APT group, compromised over 17,000 unique devices and targeted over 3,300 users at more than 500 companies and entities worldwide.
The indictment reveals that the Russian Ministry of Defense research institute employee, Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh, and his co-conspirators deployed the Triton malware. This caused two emergency shutdowns at a foreign refinery. The attacks targeted hundreds of companies and organizations in approximately 135 countries, demonstrating the global scale of the threat.
The U.S. government warns that Russia-linked APT groups continue to pose a significant risk to critical infrastructure worldwide. The Dragonfly APT conducted multiple attacks targeting ICS or SCADA systems used in the energy industry between 2012 and 2017. Three officers of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) were also charged for their role in the Dragonfly APT campaign.
The U.S. has indicted four Russian government employees for these cyberattacks. The indictments, unsealed in June and August 2021, highlight the ongoing threat posed by state-sponsored cyberattacks to the global energy sector. The U.S. government urges critical infrastructure owners and operators to remain vigilant and take necessary precautions to protect their systems.
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