Burlington Electric, a small utility company in Vermont, has discovered Russian malware on one of their computers. Last week, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI issued a 13-page public report on the cyber attack allegations. After discovering a malware code on the Democratic National Committee computers, they strongly urged companies to begin running checks on their computer systems. More and more evidence of Russian involvement in this year's Presidential Election seems to be piling up as the investigation continues.
Malicious software found!
Shortly after receiving an alert from the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, Burlington Electric discovered an issue with one of their company laptops. An IP address associated with Grizzly Steppe was found to be communicating with a company computer. Grizzly Steppe is the name government officials have used to refer to the recent cyber attacks from Russian hackers. The utility company immediately located the computer and removed it from their network. As of now, there is no indication that any data pertaining to customers has been compromised. Democratic state officials in Vermont have expressed their concern and have called this a direct threat to Vermont.
Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont is among the elected officials who are not taking this new information lightly.
Repercussions for Russia
Russian officials continue to deny any involvement or malicious cyber activity. However, the consequences of the ongoing investigations have been swift. President Obama has ejected 35 Russian diplomats from the United States.
Russian compounds in both Maryland and New York have closed down for the time being. This would not be the first time Russian hackers have been involved in devastating cyber attacks. In December 2015, the power grid in Ukraine was hacked, cutting off power to 103 cities. This was a primary concern in the US, but Burlington Electric doesn't seem to think this was the intent of the hacker who attacked their system. They are a small utility company that services under 20,000 customers. The investigation is ongoing.
