Two House lawmakers have called on the Department of Energy to provide information about the three national laboratories targeted by Russian hackers in 2022.
In a letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Reps. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and Frank Lucas, R-Okla., chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, said the documents will enable Congress to determine the impact of the attempted cyberattacks.
The requested information will also be used to evaluate how DOE works to ensure the security of sensitive scientific research and development efforts at its national laboratories.
Russian hacking group known as Cold River reportedly attempted to cyber infiltrate Brookhaven National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory between August and September 2022.
The aggressors created false login pages and used email phishing in an attempt to collect nuclear scientists’ passwords.
“The hacking group responsible for the attempted intrusions of DOE National Laboratories…has been implicated in prior hacking operations targeting key allies of the United States to benefit the Russian government,” Comer and Lucas said.
