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A failed December effort to bring down parts of Poland\u2019s energy grid was the work of Russian government hackers known for causing past energy disruptions, according to a security research firm that investigated the incident.<\/p>\n
Last week, Polish Energy Minister Milosz Motyka told reporters<\/a> that the attempted cyberattack on December 29 and 30 saw hackers targeting two heat and power plants, as well as trying to disrupt the communication links between renewable installations, such as wind turbines and power distribution operators.<\/p>\n Motyka called the incident the \u201cstrongest attack\u201d on Poland\u2019s energy infrastructure in years, with the Polish government blaming<\/a> Moscow for the attempt. Local media reported<\/a> that the attacks could have knocked out heat and power for at least half a million homes across the country.<\/p>\n On Friday, cybersecurity firm ESET said it obtained<\/a> a copy of the destructive malware, which it calls DynoWiper. This type of malware, known as \u201cwiper\u201d malware, is designed to irreversibly destroy data on computers to prevent them from working.<\/p>\n ESET attributed the malware with \u201cmedium confidence\u201d to the hacking group known as Sandworm<\/a>, a unit within Russia\u2019s military intelligence agency GRU, based on a \u201cstrong overlap\u201d with its previous research into Sandworm\u2019s past malware, including the group\u2019s use of destructive malware to target Ukraine\u2019s energy sector.<\/p>\n