FBI Warns Of Possible Cyberattack From Russia Against Critical US Infrastructure

JAKARTA - Russian hackers have scanned the systems of energy companies and other critical infrastructure in the United States. Even a top FBI official told lawmakers Tuesday, March 29 that this Russian-sponsored hack already presents a "latest" threat to America's national security.

"The threat from Russia in a criminal sense, in the sense of a nation state, is very, very real - and current," said Bryan Vorndran, Assistant Director in the FBI's Cyber Division, during hearings before a U.S. House panel.

In the last weeks since Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine, the White House and the US Department of Justice have warned the US firm of intelligence showing Russia has taken the first steps to possibly launch a cyberattack.

Vorndran told lawmakers that "examples of Russian scanning" of networks in the US energy sector had increased recently. He also said the activity was a "reconnaissance phase" by Russia to try and understand the company's defenses and whether it had exploitable vulnerabilities.

"This is a very important part of the whole attack," he said. He also added later in his testimony that Russia represents "one of the two most capable cyber adversaries we face globally," and is a "formidable adversary."

Last year, long before Russia's attack on Ukraine, US President Joe Biden publicly warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that certain critical infrastructure should be "banned" for cyberattacks.

The warning applies to 16 different types of infrastructure, sectors designated as critical by the US Department of Homeland Security, including telecommunications, health, food and energy networks.

Vorndran has since told lawmakers he is aware of software companies, among others, that were among the targets of the attacks.

"There is a compromise on some of the 16 critical infrastructure sectors," he said. "I can't speak specifically to which one."