Missile strike guidance sought by Russian cyberattacks against Ukrainian power grid

Cyberattacks by Russia against Ukraine's energy infrastructure were noted by Ukrainian cyber officials to be increasingly focused on obtaining missile strike intelligence rather than operational disruptions, reports The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

Broader operations by Russian threat actors have been more intent on facility mapping, repair crew monitoring, and energy systems restoration efforts, said Ukrainian State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection Head Oleksandr Potii on the sidelines of the Kyiv International Cyber Resilience Forum.

Meanwhile, Natalia Tkachuk, head of cyber and information security at Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, said that cyber intrusions have been deployed by Russia before and after missile attacks, with the latter meant to evaluate the effectiveness of the calibration set using the initial strike. Such statements from Potii and Tkachuk come after Russian state-sponsored hacking group Sandworm was reported by Google to have prioritized intelligence gathering in its latest attacks.