Hackers connected to the Russian government have claimed that they got into the networks of a major Canadian gas pipeline company. The group, Zarya, is not a well-known group of hackers and has only launched “nuisance” attacks, according to Allan Liska, senior security architect at cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.
Why it matters: If the group really did hack the pipeline, it could turn into a situation that resembles the 2021 Colonial Pipeline hack and fuel the flame of concerns involving Russia’s ability to disrupt critical infrastructure.
- Zarya is best known for performing distributed denial-of-service attacks that flood websites with fake traffic to knock them offline. This is one of the least-damaging kinds of cyberattacks.
- Canadian security agencies have warned for a long time that the country’s critical infrastructure is a major target for cyberattacks from foreign actors, including Russia and Russian-backed entities, among other powers.
- The notice of the hacks was brought to light in recently leaked classified U.S. government documents, which appeared on Discord.
