Russian Hacktivists Attack Canadian Gas Pipeline

Uploaded on 2023-04-18 in FREE TO VIEW

A pro-Russia hacktivist group claims to have breached the network of a Canadian gas pipeline company in February and caused damage that resulted in loss of profits, according to a document found among a tranche of US classified intelligence assessments leaked online recently.

Secret Pentagon documents that have been exposed on social medi also shed new light on the state of the war in Ukraine, showing just how deeply the United States has penetrated Russia’s military and intelligence services.

These documents suggest that Washington also appears to be spying on some of its closest allies, including Ukraine, Israel and South Korea.

One of the documents, part of a cache of leaks recently circulated on the Internet, suggests the Russian hackers had the ability to cause an explosion and sought instruction from the Russian Federal Security Service or FSB.

In the leaked briefing, actors with the Russian hacking group known as Zarya shared screenshots with an FSB officer on February 25th purporting to show their access to the Canadian facility and indicating that they had the ability to increase valve pressure, disable alarms, and initiate an emergency shutdown of the facility.

The US intelligence briefing didn’t identify the Canadian victim, writing that the screenshot was of an “unspecified gas distribution station.”

The briefing indicates that the hacking group was “receiving instructions” from someone presumed to be an FSB officer, who ordered them to maintain their network access, and that the hackers were on “standby” for further instructions from the FSB.

The document states that the FSB officer “anticipated a successful operation would cause an explosion” at the gas distribution station and that the FSB was “monitoring Canadian news reports for indications of an explosion.” But it’s not clear what the hackers did to the facility or planned to do.

They claimed they had already done “sufficient damage” to the Canadian firm “to cause profit loss to the company,” but their intention was “not to cause loss of life” only “loss of income for Canadians.” It’s not clear if US authorities ever verified the claims or identified and notified the Canadian firm in question. Zero Day was unable to independently verify the claims.

The documents reveal a broad array of information that the US intelligence community and its partners have collected about Russia’s war plans in Ukraine, including detailed maps, and about Ukraine’s defense vulnerabilities. The documents also reveal information about other countries as well, such as Iran’s nuclear program and North Korea’s testing of missiles.

Officials at the Pentagon and national security agencies have indicated they believe the documents are authentic and have launched investigations into the leaks. The revelation about the alleged cyberattack in Canada appears in just two paragraphs on a page that provides brief summaries of intelligence about other countries and regions.

Kim Zetter: NY Times: NY Times: The Globe & Mail: CTV News: National News Watch: AP News:

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