By Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON (Reuters), – Four Russian officials were charged with hacking crimes by the U.S. on Thursday. They are accused of participating in two large-scale attacks against global energy sectors and thousands of computers worldwide.

In one now-unsealed indictment from June 2021, the Justice Department accused Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh, a Russian Ministry of Defense research institute employee, of conspiring with others between May and September 2017 to hack the systems of a foreign refinery and install malware known as “Triton” on a safety system produced by Schneider Electric (PA:).

In a second unsealed indictment from August 2021, the Justice Department said three other alleged hackers from Russia’s Federal Security Service 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.

Three Russians were accused in the case: Pavel Aleksandrovich Akulov (36), Mikhail Mikhailovich Gavrilov (42), and Marat Valeryevich Tiukov (39).

Researchers discovered the shocking 2017 cyber-attack that shocked cybersecurity professionals when it was revealed later in 2017. It appeared, rather than other digital intrusions designed at stealing data and holding it for ransom it seemed to aim at physical harm to the facility’s safety system.

A FBI official said Thursday to reporters that this case underscores the ongoing threat from Russian cyber operations. He urged businesses to “lock your cyber doors”

The Justice Department said that Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation, and Kansas Electric Power Cooperative were among the victims.