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San Francisco/Washington: Russia has been targeting U.S. government agencies since at least September and may be planning more severe attacks in the days leading up to Election Day and even afterward, according to a cybersecurity advisory issued by a pair of U.S. agencies.
Russian state-sponsored operators have been targeting dozens of government and aviation networks, including successful attacks against two unnamed victims whose data was stolen as of Oct. 1, according to one of two guidances issued jointly by the FBI and the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA. There’s no evidence that the attacks have disrupted victims in aviation, education, elections or government, yet the agencies called for heightened awareness in case attackers return, especially in the days leading up to the Nov. 3 election.
“The actor may be seeking access to obtain future disruption options, to influence U.S. policies and actions, or to delegitimize” local government entities, according to the advisory issued Thursday. “There may be some risk to elections information. However, the FBI and CISA have no evidence to date that integrity of data has been compromised.”
The Russian state-sponsored group is known by various nicknames, including Berserk Bear and Crouching Yeti.
The agencies issued another alert simultaneously, warning against malicious Iranian actors seeking to interfere and sow discord in the U.S. elections. Also state-sponsored hackers, these groups are creating fake media sites and spoofing legitimate media to spread “U.S. voter registration data, anti-American propaganda and misinformation,” according to the guidance.
The warnings came a day after Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe accused Iran of escalating efforts to interfere in the closing days of the presidential election, saying the Islamic Republic faked ..
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