The code detected in the northeastern state's system did not disrupt its operations, the paper cited US officials as saying.
US
authorities have not yet pinpointed why Russians targeted the
electricity grid after code connected to Russian hacking efforts was
found in a utility system in Vermont\
A code connected to Russian hacking efforts has been discovered in a utility system in Vermont, which could point to vulnerabilities in the US electrical grid, The Washington Post reported Friday.
The
code detected in the northeastern state's system did not disrupt its
operations, the paper cited US officials as saying. The code was
associated with the Russian hacking efforts that US officials have
dubbed "Grizzly Steppe."
The Burlington
Electric Department said it had been alerted by the government Thursday
night, carried out a scan and found the malware in one laptop not
connected to its grid systems. It said it took action to isolate that
laptop.
US
authorities have not yet pinpointed why the Russians targeted the grid,
according to the Post, but that it "may have been designed to disrupt
the utility's operations or as a test by the Russians to see whether
they could penetrate a portion of the grid."
In
December 2015, a power failure that plunged parts of western Ukraine
into the dark was found to be caused by a cyberattack. The Russians were
accused of causing the blackout, an allegation they have denied.
A
US federal law enforcement report released this week showed that
Russian intelligence agencies over the last two years blanketed
Democratic Party targets with malicious emails and have likely continued
such efforts after November's elections.
The
report's release followed an array of measures unveiled by Washington
as retribution for what US officials have described as Moscow's
malicious efforts to tip the vote in favor of President-elect Donald
Trump by stealing embarrassing information from Democratic Party
operations and senior party members before releasing it to the news
media.
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