U.S. Escalates Online Attacks on Russia’s Power Grid.The US says it has inserted offensive malware into Russia’s power grid

The US says it has inserted offensive malware into Russia’s power grid

It’s a step up from previous efforts that focused more on reconnaissance than attack.

The news: The US has deployed code inside Russia’s power grid and other targets as part of its work to push back against hacking and disinformation from Moscow, the New York Times reports. The revelation comes just three days after the news that a Russia-linked group called Xenotime has started laying the early groundwork for potential attacks on US power companies.

The details: Inevitably, there are few specifics given the sensitivity of the topic. However, the work is being led by the US Cyber Command, an arm of the Pentagon. It’s permitted by a new law passed last summer which approves "clandestine military activity" in cyberspace to "deter, safeguard or defend" against attacks.

A warning: The US hopes that these revelations will act as a deterrent against any future attacks by Russia on its systems. But there’s always the risk that it could fuel an escalation instead.

U.S. Escalates Online Attacks on Russia’s Power Grid
By DAVID E. SANGER and NICOLE PERLROTH


The Trump administration is using new authority to take more aggressive digital action in a warning to Moscow and in a demonstration of its abilities.

U.S. escalates attacks on Russia’s power grid

For years, U.S. security and intelligence agencies have said that Russia has inserted malware that could sabotage U.S. power plants, oil and gas pipelines, or water supplies in any future conflict.

Now, the U.S. is deploying computer code inside Russia’s electricity grid and other targets, in a classified companion to more publicly discussed action directed at Moscow’s disinformation and hacking units around the 2018 midterm elections.

The effort is meant as a warning to President Vladimir Putin and a demonstration of how the Trump administration is using new authorities to deploy cybertools.

How we know: In interviews over the past three months, current and former U.S. government officials described the classified program.

What we don’t know: The critical question — impossible to answer without access to the classified details of the operation — is how deep into the Russian grid the U.S. has bored. Only then will it be clear whether it would be possible to plunge Russia into darkness or cripple its military.