US intelligence officials have been investigating the Russian power grid since at least 2012 and recently began targeting power grid control systems in offensive operations, according to a recent New York Times report based on information from current and former government officials.
The offensive operations involved infecting Russian systems with “potentially crippling malware […] at a depth and with an aggressiveness that had never been tried before.” The malware has not been used to carry out disruptive attacks, however. The aim of the campaign was to show Russia what US Cyber Command is capable of. The offensive approach is an interpretation of the “defending forward” philosophy that has been governing Cyber Command since last year.
Read more: US Planted Powerful Malware in Russia’s Power Grid: Report
