Global alert warns of Russian attacks on critical infrastructure including water, power, transit
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The new global warning comes from top law enforcement agencies in the U.S., Canada, Australia and Europe.
For years, the FBI has warned Russia has the capability to take down America's power grid and other critical utility control networks.
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.
A report being circulated to law enforcement worldwide outlines the Russian threat to critical infrastructure: water, power, communications, and transit.
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:
--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.
