U.S. charges 4 Russian government workers with hacking energy sector:
The U.S. Justice Department fired another legal salvo against Russia on Thursday, announcing indictments against four Russian government employees for an alleged hacking campaign targeting the energy sector that lasted for years and targeted computers in 135 countries.
An indictment in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia charges that Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh, who worked at a Russian Ministry of Defense research institute, conspired with others to damage critical infrastructure outside the United States, causing emergency shutdowns at one foreign facility. Thosecharged in the indictment, under seal since June 2021, also allegedly tried to hack the computers of a U.S. firm that managed similar facilities in the United States.
A separate indictment filed in Kansas alleges that a hacking campaign launched by Russian's federal security service, or FSB, targeted computers at hundreds of energy-related entities around the world. That indictment was also filed under seal last summer.
The hacking activity took place between 2012 and 2018, U.S. officials said. The decision to reveal the indictments underscores the concern U.S. and European officials have about Russia unleashing a wave of cyberattacks on the West in response to a new wave of sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco said there is an "urgent ongoing need for American businesses to harden their defenses and remain vigilant." She said Russian state-sponsored hackers "pose a serious and persistent threat to critical infrastructure both in the United States and around the world."
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The Biden administration on Tuesday warned the nation's governors that drinking water and wastewater utilities in their states are facing "disabling cyberattacks" by hostile foreign nations that are targeting mission-critical plant operations.
"Disabling cyberattacks are striking water and wastewater systems throughout the United States," Jake Sullivan, assistant to the president for National Security Affairs, and Michael S. Regan, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, wrote in a letter. "These attacks have the potential to disrupt the critical lifeline of clean and safe drinking water, as well as impose significant costs on affected communities."
[...] The letter extended an invitation for secretaries of each state's governor to attend a meeting to discuss better securing the water sector's critical infrastructure. It also announced that the EPA is forming a Water Sector Cybersecurity Task Force to identify vulnerabilities in water systems. The virtual meeting will take place on Thursday.
"EPA and NSC take these threats very seriously and will continue to partner with state environmental, health, and homeland security leaders to address the pervasive and challenging risk of cyberattacks on water systems," Regan said in a separate statement.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Monday March 28 2022, @09:15PM (33 children)
There is no one to blame but ourselves.
Why is infrastructure accessible from the internet again? There really is no cure for stupidity.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Freeman on Monday March 28 2022, @09:57PM (11 children)
Critical infrastructure shouldn't be attached to the Internet, for what one would hope to be Obvious reasons. Yet, here we are.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Tuesday March 29 2022, @12:35AM (10 children)
A VPN theoretically would solve the problem. I haven't tried any. Are there any that you would trust to do the job?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday March 29 2022, @01:02AM (4 children)
You may be right about a VPN. Or, you may not be. I insist that there should be no connection to the same networks accessible via the WWW. No path of communication possible. No wireless, that is far too easily hacked. Wired connections dedicated to the infrastructure.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Tuesday March 29 2022, @08:36AM (3 children)
IIRC, for years the military required all data communication be through fiber. There was (is?) some theory that someone could listen in on a wired communication. You might know about this more than I do.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday March 29 2022, @09:03AM (1 child)
Nahhh, I wouldn't know. What I know is, the military never trusted wireless, because it could be intercepted easily, and decoded with enough time and effort. Wire was always more difficult to find, or to splice into, or to remain undetected while eavesdropping - then you had to deal with decryption.
Fiber wasn't a thing when I was in the military, or, at least at that time, it was still such a secret that I didn't hear about it. And, I have no idea how to go about tapping into a fiber optic fiber. I'm sure it can be done, but it probably can't be done without being detected.
But, following that line of thought, it would make sense if all infrastructure communications were on the most secure media available. Fiber being more secure than copper, that's the way to go.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 29 2022, @10:14AM
Most comms are encrypted in the military whether wireless, wired or fiber.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 29 2022, @01:58PM
Yes, you can tap the communication across a wire. But it is also possible to tap a fiber, just more difficult.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 29 2022, @01:26AM (3 children)
A VPN lowers the attack surface, but sweetens the reward.
If the bad guy manages to break into the VPN, then he is in a system which assumes it doesn't have to worry.
Also, if you manage to hack a VPN vendor's equipment, you get each of his users in one hack.
VPN's are good in theory, but not as good as not being connected in the first place.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Tuesday March 29 2022, @08:33AM
All excellent points. However, the context is that some kind of communication is necessary, and how best to do it as safely as possible.
Possibly, maybe likely, but not necessarily.
So how about a VPN within a VPN. And several "honeypots" in the mix with lots of somewhat veiled disinformation in them.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 03 2022, @01:31PM (1 child)
I beg to differ. No one with a VPN wants to be hacked. No one wants to be hacked !
(Score: 2) by martyb on Sunday April 03 2022, @01:36PM
Wit is intellect, dancing.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday March 29 2022, @01:32PM
There's only one VPN I've used and it's been a while since I used it. Think it was PIA or something like that. It seemed to be decent and had options to pay via non-trackable means. You didn't even need to associate your name with the service as far as I can remember.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 3, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 28 2022, @11:19PM (3 children)
So this absolves russians from crime of hacking?
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 28 2022, @11:51PM (2 children)
I really want to see a first amendment defense against a hacking charge.
"Your Honor, all I did was say to the computer 11010110011001001000111001010010101101001..."
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday March 29 2022, @03:00PM
Some people believe that just because the government doesn't censor you that your speech can never have any bad consequences. They usually find out differently once they cross certain lines.
When trying to solve a problem don't ask who suffers from the problem, ask who profits from the problem.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday March 29 2022, @05:08PM
And all I did was stick a piece of metal into your front door lock in a specific way then harm you financially by absconding with your valuables.
Clearly this is all your fault!
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 28 2022, @11:21PM (12 children)
It isn't stealing unless it's nailed down?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday March 28 2022, @11:25PM (10 children)
If you lay all of your valuables along the curb, and leave them there, you're going to have a hard time convincing any judge that people stole your stuff. Especially on trash day.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 29 2022, @12:33AM (4 children)
So if someone shoots you, it's all your fault for not having enough protection?
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday March 29 2022, @12:59AM (3 children)
Bad things happen to people who aren't properly prepared to avoid those bad things. Have you noticed the situation Ukraine is in today? You lock your valuables up in your bedroom safe, or some such. You lock your door when you leave the house, if you don't always keep it locked. You lock your car and take the keys with you when you park the car. And, you disconnect critical infrastructure from the world wide web. To repeat myself, it is OUR fault that Russians can access our infrastructure. That doesn't make them good guys, they are still bad guys. But, it's OUR fault that our valuable possessions are strewn along the curb, waiting for someone to pick them up and take them home.
Do you routinely leave briefcases full of money open in the park for the wind to blow the bills away?
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday March 29 2022, @03:12PM
If a criminal attacks you, it is not the victim's fault. Whether or not the victim had adequate defenses or protection.
Am I supposed to make sure my house is safe against an anti tank missile?
I agree that we have not secured out infrastructure as well as we should.
That does not make Russia any less to blame for an attack.
Let me be clear: it is the attacker's (eg criminal's) fault regardless of the defense level of the victim.
I doubt this is a fair analogy to the state of insecurity that the Russians exploited.
When trying to solve a problem don't ask who suffers from the problem, ask who profits from the problem.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday March 29 2022, @05:12PM (1 child)
And if I kick your front door down it's your fault you didn't have a secure enough front door.
And if you get a better front door but I use a battering ram it's your fault you didn't have a battering ram proof door.
And if you get a better door but I pick the lock it's your fault for not having a better lock.
And if you get a better lock but I come in through the window it's your fault for not having a better window...
Or....we make breaking and entering illegal. Seems a lot simpler!
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday March 29 2022, @05:25PM
A: We don't enforce the laws we already have very effectively.
B: US courts don't have jurisdiction over Russian hackers.
C: Russia is very unlikely to extradite Russian hackers to put them within US jurisdiction.
How 'bout we stay here in reality, and understand that there are bad people in the world. You and I have some responsibility for protecting ourselves. Our government and our infrastructure providers have a responsibility to protect our assets, instead of whining and moaning that there are bad people trying to take advantage.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Reziac on Tuesday March 29 2022, @02:31AM (3 children)
Word was back when the mob ran Reno, you could literally do that, and come back to find your bags still there.
I'm not sure what that says about our infrastructure, except... maybe we should be run by smarter mobsters. ;P
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday March 29 2022, @02:54AM
That's worth a chuckle. Petty thieves rounded up, brought into a conference room surrounded by 15 guys with Tommy guns. Yeah, they understand clearly that the penalty for infringing on the Mob's territory is death.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by DannyB on Tuesday March 29 2022, @04:51PM (1 child)
I do not know about Reno. However that was true in Las Vegas prior to the 1980s.
Now the city has gangs from California. Back in the day the mob would never have allowed that to happen. Makes the city less attractive for business.
When trying to solve a problem don't ask who suffers from the problem, ask who profits from the problem.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Tuesday March 29 2022, @05:26PM
Good example of better the devil you know.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 29 2022, @10:18AM
non sequitur
(Score: 3, Funny) by khallow on Monday March 28 2022, @11:41PM
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 28 2022, @11:25PM
Ok Russiaway!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 29 2022, @12:18AM (2 children)
Yes. Your principles, more precisely.
1. Your critical infrastructure is private
2. nobody tell a private entity how to run their business
Add to this the insurance industry(which is reactive, needs incidents to update the risks) and there you are.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday March 29 2022, @01:05AM (1 child)
Ahhhhhh, but, infrastructure isn't private. Never has been, never will be. Government regulates infrastructure, government awards monopolistic business licenses to run that infrastructure, tax dollars support infrastructure in a myriad of ways. Electricity, among other infrastructure, is a strategic asset. Government has all the authority in the world to regulate strategic assets.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday March 29 2022, @11:08AM
Except, of course, when it doesn't have all that authority, such as in constitutionally bound governments.
(Score: 2) by HammeredGlass on Monday March 28 2022, @09:18PM (10 children)
This is simple political distraction with the appearance of doing something.
!IF! these four people actually exist, they will never be heard from in American courts, and will laugh about these dumbass charges for the remaining days.
(Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 28 2022, @09:23PM
Their remaining days or something else's remaining days?
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday March 28 2022, @09:55PM (6 children)
How long of a memory do you have? The government doesn't just forget and forgive. All it takes is for them to visit the wrong country and they could very well find themselves on the next flight to the USA to stand trial.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 29 2022, @12:02AM
Nah, unlike Assange they haven't personally pissed off the wrong people. Everyone knows that they were acting under orders, and they all have interchangeable names anyway, giving them zero public recognition. Are you going to remember Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh? - and they didn't even bother naming the others.
IF one of them visited the US and IF someone official noticed, they might get arrested just because that's what the Kafkaian system does, but given the difficulty in proving it in court they are more likely to just pretend they never saw them. They certainly aren't going to be tracking them down in other countries, this is just theater to show "Russia Bad, Ukraine Good".
(Score: 3, Funny) by HammeredGlass on Tuesday March 29 2022, @01:52AM (2 children)
"!IF! these four people actually exist"
(Score: 2, Disagree) by Freeman on Tuesday March 29 2022, @01:36PM (1 child)
They very likely exist and very likely did what they're accused of, and very likely are in Russia or other Russia friendly country.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 02 2022, @12:36PM
You seem to be excessively naive. Have you considered taking a night class in cynicism?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Reziac on Tuesday March 29 2022, @02:33AM (1 child)
I did notice that the accused are conveniently out of reach.
My cynical little voice remarks that maybe this is to redirect attention away from a culprit nearer to hand.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Freeman on Tuesday March 29 2022, @01:42PM
Law Enforcement usually goes after whomever they can reach. In the event there was someone closer at hand, they would have nabbed him. Nothing boosts the PR like capturing a bad guy.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday March 29 2022, @04:57PM (1 child)
I suspect they are wasting from hundreds of thousands to low millions of dollars.
Wouldn't you rather have them spending their time on this than, say, dictating what the value of PI should be, or creating another SLS to nowhere, or mandating contradictory requirements how cryptography must be secure but magically becomes insecure when a warrant is presented?
When trying to solve a problem don't ask who suffers from the problem, ask who profits from the problem.
(Score: 2) by HammeredGlass on Wednesday March 30 2022, @12:47PM
Why is "none of the above" never an option?
(Score: 4, Touché) by Gaaark on Monday March 28 2022, @09:51PM
Well then, lets shutdown Microsoft, put it's bribing executives in jail and switch everything over to Linux/BSD and open-source.
But no... let's just say words and try to impress people and then continue accepting the bribes!
Yes. I trust U.S. 'officials'.... yup. Riiiightttt.... are these the same 'officials' that said there were WMD? Snowden is a criminal? Etc etc?
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 28 2022, @10:51PM (6 children)
We're expected to believe that four government workers got together and did something other than discuss their gold-plated pension and healthcare plans?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 28 2022, @11:16PM (5 children)
In Putin's Russia, healthcare plan covers cost of bullet.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 28 2022, @11:28PM (4 children)
In Biden's America, uninsured don't even get bullet option.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 29 2022, @12:37AM (3 children)
In America must buy own bullet?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 29 2022, @01:07AM (2 children)
In America, is illegal to buy bullet for purpose of self execution.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 29 2022, @10:23AM
In Russia, self execution carried out by government.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday March 29 2022, @01:45PM
In some states / most states? in the USA it is illegal to commit suicide. I mean, in a way, it's kind of dumb. From a more pessimistic point of view, it's probably just one of those ways to make sure your family doesn't get a life insurance payout.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2, Insightful) by khallow on Tuesday March 29 2022, @02:27AM (2 children)
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 29 2022, @05:33PM (1 child)
https://www.sheepfarm.in/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Sheep-Breeding-Management..jpg [sheepfarm.in]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 02 2022, @12:44PM
Ok, parent comment is off-topic, probably a troll, but is not spam. (For those who don't click links it is a pic of a ram mounting a ewe)
The spam mod abuse is getting a bit out of hand.
Come back TMB, we need you.