In a development, that is sure to shake corporations as well as the security agencies in America to the core, several Nuclear Power Plants in the country have been hacked by foreign governments. The reports about the security breach surfaced yesterday and according to people aware of the events, the prime suspect in the security breach is Russia. It is believed that it could be the part of a larger effort to destabilize the power supply systems in the country.
Russians at it again
Russian hackers have been a common bugbear for the United States over the past year or so.
Now, with United States officials believing that the security breach in the nuclear power plants has been orchestrated by foreign governments, Russia as a suspect is not far fetched. Around a dozen nuclear power plants had been the subject of the attack and according to the officials, who spoke to Bloomberg, the hacking operation could actually be the part of a plot to endanger the power supply infrastructure in the country.
Russia's intervention in the US Presidential election last year remains an extremely sensitive topic in the United States and as such, the suspicions of the US officials are certainly justified. The tensions between the United States and Russia are at peak levels and the latest development will only result in further deterioration of relations.
The objective
According to the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, the attempts to hack into the systems of the energy sector had been going for a few months now. Disruption of power supplies is a well known Russian tactic and in fact, they have used it in Ukraine quite successfully in the past. Hence, security officials believe that these hacking activities could be the part of a larger plot.
In addition to that, there is a suspicion that the Russian could be using quite advanced technology for this purpose. For instance, an intrusion had taken place at a company which manufactures control systems for the power sector and officials believe that it could be related to the hacking that took place at the nuclear power stations.
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security stated that these intrusions pose no threat to the general public. On the other hand, the Department of Energy released a statement in which it said: “Regardless of whether malicious actors attempt to exploit business networks or operational systems, we take any reports of malicious cyber activity potentially targeting our nation’s energy infrastructure seriously and respond accordingly,”
