Russia-backed hackers try to hijack Britain’s power supply

REUTERS

The hackers, who targeted the Republic of Ireland’s energy sector, intended to infiltrate control systems, security analysts believe, according to The Times. 

This would also have given them the power to knock out parts of the grid in Northern Ireland.

Read alsoRussians are said to be suspects in nuclear site hackings – BloombergSenior engineers at Ireland’s Electricity Supply Board (ESB) were targeted last month by a group understood to have ties to the Kremlin’s GRU intelligence agency. The hackers sent emails designed to trick staff by drawing on extensive surveillance of ESB practices and contained malicious software.