War: Putin Poised To Launch Deadly Attacks On UK’s 'Critical Infrastructure'

Putin is poised to launch deadly attacks on UK’s ‘critical infrastructure’.

EKO HOT BLOG reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly plotting deadly cyber attacks against critical UK infrastructure, including power grids.

Clandestine operations carried out with the help of sleeper agents already hiding in the system could even pose a risk to life, Simon West, Cyber Advisory Lead at Resilience in the United Kingdom, has warned.

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More than seven months into Putin’s invasion, the ongoing military campaign remains the primary focus of attention.

However, Mr West said with tensions running high as a result of the supply of weapons to Ukraine by western nations, it was entirely plausible to believe Russia would strike back in less obvious ways.

He told Express.co.uk: “Cyber can be a low-cost but effective means to do so.

“Google recently warned there is increased effort from the Russian government to coordinate with criminal hackers.”

He said: “For Russia to conduct an attack on critical infrastructure it’s likely the infrastructure is already compromised to a certain degree (known as sleepers – sitting silently on the network conducting reconnaissance and continuing to spread laterally until the right opportunity presents itself).

Asked about the specific nature of potential Russian attacks against the West, Mr West suggested there were clues to be gleaned from war it was waging on its neighbour.

He said: “Russia’s military has stepped up attacks on Ukraine infrastructure, including the power grid.

“The latest thinking is that the Western energy sector could similarly be at risk.
“Our own threat intelligence team recently alerted our energy clients to that very possibility.”

In addition, Russia might opt to “turn up” the level of ransomware attacks from criminals supportive of the Russian government.”

In the meantime, reconnaissance and network access would continue, with remotely bases operatives waiting for either the opportunity or “significant escalation” prior to doing anything, Mr West said.

With respect to the potential impact on the West, especially Britain, Mr West said: “As winter sets in on Europe and the need for energy rises to heat homes, this infrastructure could be an attractive target for Putin to apply pressure to the UK and EU.”