Photo from UNIAN
U.S. Homeland Security and intelligence agencies are analyzing computer code from what appear to be one of the first known cyberattacks that resulted in an electrical power outage in Ukraine, according to The Washington Post.
The Washington Post reveals more details of the December 23 incidents, which lasted several hours and affected tens of thousands of people, in Ukraine's capital region and in the western part of the country.
The power authorities said that control systems used to coordinate remote substations were disabled in the cyberattack.
The United States has not publicly commented on the attack. Homeland Security and intelligence agency officials declined to comment.
Read alsoUkraine utility cyber attack wider than reported: expertsBut private-sector analysts who have reviewed the malicious software see the attack as a rare instance in which a hacking incident involving an industrial control system has affected ordinary citizens.
“That is a milestone in itself,’’ said John Hultquist, director of cyberespionage analysis for iSight Partners, a computer security firm.
Privately, U.S. officials said it will take time to understand how the attack occurred.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukraine's SBU Security Service initially reported that the cyberattack came from Russia.