U.S., British governments warn of Russian campaign to hack routers

The U.S. and British governments on Monday accused Russia of conducting a massive campaign to compromise computer routers and firewalls around the world — from home offices to internet providers — for espionage and possibly sabotage purposes.

The unusual public warning from the White House, U.S. agencies and Britain’s National Cyber Security Center follows a years-long effort to monitor the threat. The targets number in the millions, officials say, and include “primarily government and private-sector organizations, critical infrastructure providers, and the internet service providers (ISPs) supporting these sectors.”

It was the two countries’ first such joint alert.

“We have high confidence that Russia has carried out a coordinated campaign to compromise ... routers, residential and business — the things you and I have in our home,” said Rob Joyce, the White House cybersecurity coordinator.

“We condemn the ac- tions and hold the Kremlin responsible for the malicious activities,” said Jeanette Manfra, the chief cybersecurity official for the Department of Homeland Security.

The warning is unrelated to the administration’s recent military strikes on suspected chemical weapons facilities in Syria, action Russia condemned.