Russian cyber intrusions in the U.S. and around the world ( Archived) (39)

Since at least 1986, Russians – and others acting on Russia's behalf – have been finding their ways into U.S. government, military and civilian computer systems. Click through the timeline to explore what they've done over the years.



Conducting advanced attacks

In more recent years, Russia has been behind some of the most sophisticated cyberattacks on record. The 2015 cyberattack on three of Ukraine’s regional power distribution companies knocked out power to almost a quarter-million people.

Cybersecurity analysts from the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center and the SANS Institute reported that the multi-staged attacks were conducted by a “highly structured and resourced actor.” Ukraine blamed the attacks on Russia.

The attackers used a variety of techniques and adapted to the targets they faced. They used spearphishing email messages to gain initial access to systems. They installed “BlackEnergy” malware to establish remote control over the infected devices. They harvested credentials to move through the networks. They developed custom malicious firmware to render system control devices inoperable.

They hijacked the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system to open circuit breakers in substations. They used “KillDisk” malware to erase the master boot record of affected systems. The attackers even went so far as to strike the control stations’ battery backups and tie up the energy company’s call center with thousands of calls.

The Russians returned in 2016 with more advanced tools to take down a major artery of Ukraine’s power grid. Russia is believed to have also invaded energy companies in the US, including those operating nuclear power plants.
Top-notch cybereducation

Russia has many skilled cyberoperators, and for good reason: Their educational system emphasises information technology and computer science, more so than in the US. Every year, Russian schools take a disproportionate number of the top spots in the International Collegiate Programming Contest.

In the 2016 contest, St. Petersburg State University took the top spot for the fifth time in a row, and four other Russian schools also made the top 12. In 2017, St. Petersburg ITMO University won, with two other Russian schools also placing in the top 12. The top US school ranked 13th.

As Russia prepared to form a cyberbranch within its military, Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu took note of Russian students’ performance in the contest. “We have to work with these guys somehow, because we need them badly,” he said in a public meeting with university administrators.
Who are these Russian cyberwarriors?
See related
How Russian hackers went after the world’s coronavirus vaccine secrets
Beijing-linked hackers ‘tried to steal’ coronavirus vaccine data
State-sponsored hackers ‘trying to steal’ coronavirus vaccine research

Russia employs cyberwarriors within its military and intelligence services. Indeed, the cyberespionage groups dubbed APT28 (aka Fancy Bear) and APT29 (aka Cozy Bear and The Dukes) are believed to correspond to Russia’s military intelligence agency GRU and its state security organisation FSB, respectively.

Both groups have been implicated in hundreds of cyberoperations over the past decade, including US election hacking.

Russia recruits cyberwarriors from its colleges, but also from the cybersecurity and cybercrime sectors. It is said to turn a blind eye to its criminal hackers as long as they avoid Russian targets and use their skills to aid the government.

According to Dmitri Alperovitch, co-founder of the security firm CrowdStrike, when Moscow identifies a talented cybercriminal, any pending criminal case against the person is dropped and the hacker disappears into the Russian intelligence

The Russiansand the Chinese, although operating separately, are chopping us to pieces.

Doesanyone now want the Chiese to oversee our 5g operation

One of many cyberthreats

Although Russia poses a major cyberthreat, it is not the only country that threatens the US in cyberspace. China, Iran and North Korea are also countries with strong cyberattack capabilities, and more countries will join the pool as they develop their people’s skills.

The good news is that actions to protect an organisation’s cybersecurity (such as monitoring access to sensitive files) that work against Russia also work against other threat actors.

The bad news is that many organisations do not take those steps. Further, hackers find new vulnerabilities in devices and exploit the weakest link of all – humans. Whether cyberdefenses will evolve to avert a major calamity, from Russia or anywhere else, remains to be seen

Well thanks for putting our inteligence services right, it took me ages to put that lot together surely a little research from yourself would be welcome. Thanks for your comments

Here is one scource you can research if you want,

Dorothy Denning, emeritus distinguished professor of Defense Analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School, California.

She's good.