Caution:

On August 26, 2021, a grand jury sitting in the United States District of Kansas indicted three Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officers for their alleged involvement in computer intrusion, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft offenses. These officers were members of Center 16, an FSB component also known as Military Unit 71330, and were part of a team within Center 16 known by cybersecurity researchers as "Dragonfly," Energetic Bear," and "Crouching Yeti."   As alleged in the indictment, the three FSB officers, Pavel Aleksandrovich Akulov, Mikhail Mikhailovich Gavrilov, and Marat Valeryevich Tyukov, knowingly and intentionally conspired with each other, and with persons known and unknown, to obtain and maintain unauthorized persistent access (“hacking”) to victim computer networks belonging to companies and other entities in the global energy sector, including their power generation facilities, thereby enabling the Russian government to disrupt and damage such systems, if it wished.  The defendants and their coconspirators targeted hundreds of American and international energy sector companies.  Also targeted were over 380 foreign companies based in 135 countries including Albania, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.  These companies included global oil and gas firms, utility and electrical grid companies, nuclear power plants, renewable energy companies, consulting and engineering groups, and advanced technology firms.