#sandworm

#sandworm

It called the attacks irresponsible, and if they succeeded in disrupting the country's power grid, it could have led to civilian deaths given the timing. "An attack on a power grid at any time is irresponsible, but to carry it out in the depths of winter is potentially lethal to the civilian population dependent on it," Dragos said. "It is unfortunate that those who attack these systems appear to deliberately choose timing that maximizes impact on civilian populations."

A failed December effort to bring down parts of Poland's energy grid was the work of Russian government hackers known for causing past energy disruptions, according to a security research firm that investigated the incident. Last week, Polish Energy Minister Milosz Motyka told reporters that the attempted cyberattack on December 29 and 30 saw hackers targeting two heat and power plants, as well as trying to disrupt the communication links between renewable installations, such as wind turbines and power distribution operators.

In April, the group targeted a Ukrainian university with two wipers, a form of malware that aims to permanently destroy sensitive data and often the infrastructure storing it. One wiper, tracked under the name Sting, targeted fleets of Windows computers by scheduling a task named DavaniGulyashaSdeshka, a phrase derived from Russian slang that loosely translates to "eat some goulash," researchers from ESET said. The other wiper is tracked as Zerlot.