US charges four Russian hackers over cyber-attacks on global energy sector

Quartet accused in two major hacking campaigns between 2012 and 2018, indictment unsealed by justice department reads

The US has unveiled criminal charges against four Russian government officials, saying they engaged in two major hacking campaigns between 2012 and 2018 that targeted the global energy sector and affected thousands of computers across 135 countries.

In one now-unsealed indictment from August 2021, the justice department said three alleged hackers from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) carried out cyber-attacks on the computer networks of oil and gas firms, nuclear power plants, and utility and power transmission companies across the world between 2012 and 2017.