Lights OUT America: Russian Hackers Penetrate U.S. Power Grid

Lights OUT America: Yep, you read that right…..the US DHS confirmed that Russian cyber attackers could have the capacity to take down our ENTIRE power grid.

 

In a giant attack campaign, they were able to gain access to the control rooms of the biggest U.S. electric companies where they could have caused major blackouts. These campaigns are likely to continue if cyber security standards are not enhanced.

 

A Russian hacker group called, Energetic Bear, broke into a secured isolated network by penetrating a network of vendors who had trusted network relations with the power companies. After planting malware within these small networks, they were able to access other crucial sectors such as nuclear power, water, aviation and manufacturing. A few hundred victims have seen their power affected by this group and there are some companies that said they do not know if they are compromised; meaning, there could be more attacks to come in the near future.

 

Source: CNN

 

Russian threats have been eminent for a while now…

The U.S. has been warning about these types of threats from Russia, stating they could compromise everything from energy grids to the electoral systems. “They’ve been intruding into our networks and are positioning themselves for a limited or widespread attack,” said Michael Carpenter, former deputy assistant secretary of defense. The cyber-attacks that surfaced in the U.S. spring of 2016 and continued through 2017, exploited relationships that utilities have with vendors with a special software updates, run diagnostics and perform other services needed to keep millions of pieces working properly.

 

So, how do you make sure your light stay on within your organization?

1. Be sure you have the proper Disaster Recovery systems in place.
2. Be smart about email links. Check out Cyber Security Pro to enhance your business’ security.
3. Improve your Network Security systems with Unified Threat Management.

 

Succurri can help keep your business protected from these kind of cyber-attacks, or anything else that tries to prevent you from running your business. If you have any concerns, reach out to us today!

 

Want to learn more about what a Managed Security Services Provider is? Listen to Succurri partner, Grant Eckstrom, and Fractional CMO, Tony Lael, discuss the topic in more depth in this video.