Infrastructure systems in the United States and Europe are vulnerable targets for pro-Russian hackers, many security agencies warned in a May 1 statement.
“In early 2024, the perpetrator organizations observed pro-Russian hacktivists targeting vulnerable industrial control systems in North America and Europe,” said the advisory, written by the FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, as well as d other national and international offices. .
The agencies observed that pro-Russian hackers were compromising the operational technology of infrastructure such as “water and wastewater (WWS) systems, dams, energy, and food and beverage sectors.” agriculture”.
Pro-Russian hackers could break into these systems in a variety of ways. Some points include entering outdated software and cracking weak passwords.
While hackers have primarily caused “nuisance effects,” the advisory notes that “historically, these hacktivists have been known to exaggerate their capabilities and impact on targets.” Unauthorized access is problematic, however.
The authoring agencies found that interference can be avoided through better cyber hygiene and guidance between systems, which is explained in more detail in the advisory.
The advisory note states that measures such as changing passwords for operational technology, creating multi-factor authentication to access this technology, and limiting exposure of operational technology to the Internet should be taken immediately.
Earlier this year, a hack was reported at a Texas water tower, causing it to overflow. The hacker group believed to be responsible for the disruption is called Sandworm and the group was linked to Russia in April.
Mandiant, a Google-owned cybersecurity company, described Sandworm as a “dynamic and operational threat actor, actively engaged across the full spectrum of espionage, attack and influence operations.”
The Justice Department charged several members of Sandworm in 2020 with crimes related to interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Sandworm is also known for its global hacking disruptions, previously targeting Ukraine and South Korea.
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