The announcement covered hackings from 2012 to 2018, but served as yet another warning from the Biden administration of Russia’s ability to conduct such operations.
The Justice Department unsealed charges on Thursday accusing four Russian officials of carrying out a series of cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure in the United States, including a nuclear power plant in Kansas, and evidently compromising a petrochemical facility in Saudi Arabia. The announcement covered hackings from 2012 to 2018, but served as yet another warning from the Biden administration of Russia’s ability to conduct such operations. It came days after President Biden told businesses that Moscow could wage such attacks to retaliate against countries that have forcefully opposed the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “Although the criminal charges unsealed today reflect past activity, they make crystal clear the urgent ongoing need for American businesses to harden their defenses and remain vigilant,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco said in a statement. “Russian state-sponsored hackers pose a serious and persistent threat to critical infrastructure both in the United States and around the world.” The four officials, including three members of Russia’s domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Security Service, or F.S.B., are accused of breaching hundreds of energy companies around the world, showing the “dark art of the possible,” a Justice Department official said at a briefing with reporters. The indictments essentially confirm what cyberresearchers have said for years, that Russia was to blame for the intrusions. None of the Russian officials accused of the attacks have been apprehended. In his warning to private companies on Monday, Mr. Biden urged them to strengthen their defenses. National security experts have said that companies should report any unusual activity to the F.B.I. and other agencies that can respond to potential breaches. In one of the indictments unsealed on Thursday, a computer programmer for the Russian Ministry of Defense, Evgeny V.
