Information sought on attempted Russian cyberattacks against nuclear labs

The U.S. Department of Energy has been requested by Republican House committee leaders to provide documents and information regarding Russian state-sponsored hacking group Cold River's attempted cyberattacks against Argonne National Library, Brookhaven National Library, and Lawrence Livermore National Library last summer, reports FedScoop. Cold River was reported by Reuters to have facilitated the cyberattack attempts through fraudulent login pages that sought to exfiltrate the credentials of nuclear scientists involved in the U.S. nuclear weapons program. Information provided by the Energy Department would be leveraged to identify the incidents' impact, as well as examine the measures implemented by the department to maintain sensitive scientific research and development security at its National Laboratories, wrote House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and House Science Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., in a letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. "Although it is unclear whether the attempted intrusions were successful, it is alarming that a hostile foreign adversary targeted government labs working on scientific research critical to the national security and competitiveness of the United States," the lawmakers wrote.