For years, the FBI has warned Russia has the capability to take down America's power grid and other critical utility control networks.
[Ads /]
Now, the Russians also have the motive, according to authorities, because Western nations are tightening the screws on Moscow with Ukraine-related economic sanctions.
RELATED | Russian cyber attacks targeting US election systems, critical infrastructure: FBI
Russia's conventional military threat is obvious. Video Wednesday showed a Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile being test fired.
Less detectable in Moscow, hidden away in a mirrored spy headquarters, is a burgeoning war effort threatening areas outside of Ukraine, including the U.S.
I-Team Insider: Russian Cyberattacks
A report being circulated to law enforcement worldwide outlines the Russian threat to critical infrastructure: water, power, communications, and transit.
[Ads /]
Authorities say it is a potential response by President Vladimir Putin to the Ukraine economic sanctions.
RELATED | Russian invasion of Ukraine underscores Illinois preparations for digital battlefield
For more than a decade, U.S. officials have developed cases against suspected Russian cyber-criminals -- and prosecuted some.
One Russian hacking group was allegedly dismantled in January, before the Ukraine invasion, with arrests in Russia during a rare and unusual cooperative effort between Washington and Moscow. There were more than a dozen arrests. Cash and computers were confiscated.
The renewed threat brought by sanctions from the Ukraine War have led investigators to name three main threats run by state-sanctioned Russian attackers:
[Ads /]
--Berserk Bear targeting energy, transportation, defense, water and wastewater systems
--Primitive Bear that has targeted Ukrainian government agencies and military since at least 2013
--Venomous Bear going after NATO nations, especially through hijacked satellite internet connections for command and control
With the Ukraine War dragging on comes the global warning: there's growing concern Russia's overt war effort may be propped up by a covert attack thousands of miles from the front lines on the computers that run our everyday lives.