Russian hackers target US nuclear laboratories

RUSSIAN hackers targeted three nuclear research laboratories in the United States last summer, according to internet records reviewed by cybersecurity experts.

Between August and September, as Vladimir Putin indicated that Russia would be willing to use nuclear weapons to defend its territory, a hacking group known as Cold River targeted the Brookhaven (BNL), Argonne (ANL) and Lawrence Livermore (LLNL) laboratories.

Internet records showed the hackers creating fake login pages for each institution and emailed nuclear scientists in an attempt to make them reveal their passwords. It was unclear why the labs were chosen or if any attempted intrusion was successful.

Cold River’s digital blitz against the US labs occurred as UN experts entered Russian-controlled Ukrainian territory to inspect Europe’s biggest atomic power plant and assess the risk of what both sides said could be a radiation disaster amid heavy shelling nearby.

BNL and LLNL did not comment. An ANL spokesman referred questions to the US Department of Energy, which declined to comment.

Russia’s Federal Security Service and its embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.