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The Computer Emergency Response Team of Ukraine announced that it prevented a Russian cyberattack targeting the country's power grid. The agency said that Russian hackers tried to install malware on computers at multiple power substations, which would have allowed them to halt the flow of power and delete all the files on the systems. Those substations supply power for roughly two million residents.
Officials said that the hackers managed to infect the computer systems at a single substation, causing a minor disruption to operations. However, technicians were able to stop the attack before it spread to other substations or knocked out power.
"The hack attempt did not affect the provision of electricity at the power company. It was promptly detected and mitigated," said Viktor Zhora, a senior official with Ukraine's cybersecurity agency. "But the intended disruption was huge."
Cybersecurity company ESET said that the attack was organized by the Sandworm hacker group, which is part of Russia's GRU military intelligence agency. The company said the group of hackers used an upgraded version of malware that was used in two cyberattacks in 2014 and 2015 that caused residents of Kyiv to temporarily lose power.
Since Russia launched an invasion in February, Ukraine has been targeted by multiple cyberattacks against government networks, internet service providers, and financial institutions.