Russia-backed hackers are attacking network equipment around the globe, say US and Britain
The attacks have affected a range of organisations including internet service providers, private businesses and critical infrastructure providers, officials said
The United States and Britain on Monday warned of a global cyberattack targeting routers and other networking equipment, blaming Russian government-backed hackers for the campaign on government agencies, businesses and critical infrastructure operators.
Washington and London issued a joint alert, saying the widespread, global campaign began in 2015 and could be escalated to launch offensive attacks.
A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there had been a steady increase in Russian cyberattacks in recent years.
“It’s harder to track, attribute and respond immediately to a cyberattack … than it is to know who fired a missile,” the official said.
The alert comes two months after the United States and Britain accused Russia of carrying out the damaging “NotPetya” cyberattack in 2017 that unleashed a virus that crippled parts of Ukraine’s infrastructure and damaged computers across the globe.