Senior U.S. and British officials on Monday blamed the Russian government for coordinated cyberattacks against internet infrastructure worldwide in an effort to conduct espionage and intellectual property theft.
Officials said that Russian hackers have been conducting a months-long cyber campaign against network devices used by government organizations, private industry, critical infrastructure operators, and internet service providers. The hackers have tried to breach routers, switches and firewalls in an effort to breach organizations across the globe, officials said.
White House cybersecurity coordinator Rob Joyce said that the hackers were likely conducting the attacks for spying purposes or intellectual property theft, but said the access could also be used to facilitate future offensive activity.
“When we see malicious cyber activity, whether it be from the Kremlin or other nation-state actors, we are going to push back,” Joyce told reporters Monday.
Officials at the Department of Homeland Security, FBI and Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre conducted a joint investigation into the activity. Officials said that the attacks spanned several months, though noted that they do not have a full picture of the scope of the activity. – READ MORE
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