Washington: Hackers linked to the Kremlin penetrated the electricity grid of the US although they did not disrupt services, a media report has said.
According to the Washington Post report on Friday that quoted US officials on condition of anonymity, the hackers used malware to obtain the code which gave them access to the grid, Efe news reported on Saturday.
The target of the hackers was presumably one of the two major utilities of the state of Vermont: Green Mountain Power or Burlington Electric.
“The incursion may have been designed to disrupt the utility’s operations or as a test to see whether they could penetrate a portion of the grid,” the report said, citing the same sources.
The Kremlin has been in the eye of the storm during recent weeks after the White House accused Russia of being behind a cyber attack against the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton’s campaign to help Donald Trump.
On December 29, US President Barack Obama ordered the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats and imposed economic sanctions against Russian intelligence agencies, intelligence personnel and cyber security companies in response to the hacking.