The Department of Homeland Security has notified U.S. critical infrastructure operators and owners of an alert on the Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team website about a cyber attack against Ukraine’s power companies in December 2015.A DHS blog post published Monday says the alert seeks to share information on malicious tactics used in the cyber attack and encourage asset owners to adopt mitigation measures against cyber threats.
Andy Ozment, DHS assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications, co-wrote the post with Gregory Touhill, deputy assistant secretary for cybersecurity operations and programs at DHS.
The cyber attack in Ukraine led to a power failure that lasted for nearly six hours and affected at least 200,000 electricity users, according to the post.
In addition to the electric sector, DHS will also conduct briefings on the incident with the transportation, water, chemical, natural gas and nuclear industries through information sharing and analysis centers and sector coordination councils.
Ozment and Touhill also noted that the department intends to expand its outreach efforts to help raise awareness of cyber intrusions in Ukraine among owners and operators of critical infrastructure assets.
