A new report from the cybersecurity firm iSight Partners concludes that Russian hackers, likely acting with government approval, have been spying on NATO Ukraine, and the European Union since 2009.
The report alleges that the Russian suspects were stealing data on energy and telecom issues, as well as information on the Ukraine crisis, NBC News reported Tuesday.
“This is consistent with espionage activity,” iSight Senior Director Stephen Ward in the report, The Atlantic Council reported Tuesday. “All indicators from a targeting and lures perspective would indicate espionage with Russian national interests.”
The hackers, who are part of an operation called “Sandworm Team,” have been targeting vulnerabilities found in many versions of Microsoft Windows operating system.
Microsoft plans to introduce an automatic update for its computers Tuesday, NBC reported.
Russian hackers are also believed to have been behind the JPMorgan Chase & Co. hacking in July that affected more than 83 million people, over 7 million small businesses. The U.S. Treasury, the Secret Service and intelligence agencies have been working with JPMorgan and a number of other banks and brokerage firms since the attack.
SEE ALSO: FBI probing high-tech JPMorgan hacking believed to have Russian backing: report
“It was a huge surprise that they were able to compromise a huge bank like JPMorgan,” Al Pascual, a security analyst with Javelin Strategy and Research, recently told The New York Times. “It scared the pants off many people.”
JPMorgan Chase disabled compromised accounts in July and reset passwords. Customers were also informed that they would they be held liable for unauthorized transactions.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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