The cyber espionage group known as Dragonfly is launching cyber attacks on energy infrastructure in the United States and Europe, according to the software company Symantec.
Dragonfly attempted similar attacks between 2011 and 2014, before it was discovered by researchers like Symantec and went dark. The group appears to be active again and has been carrying out a string of attacks termed “Dragonfly 2.0” for the past two years, according to Symantec.
Dragonfly uses spear phishing, trojan software, and watering hole websites to steal official credentials and access centers of operation. The group is well organized, documenting hacking attempts through screenshots and describing each step in the photos’ labels, Axios reports.
The cyber group’s tactics are similar to hacking attempts launched by other nations, Raytheon’s Chief Strategy Officer for Cyber Services Josh Douglas told Axios.
As of yet, however, no evidence exists that other countries were involved in the hacking attempts, according to Symantec.
In the past, hackers have been able to break into electrical grids and stop the flow of power to customers. Hackers cut off power to about 250,000 Ukrainians in 2015, Wired reports.
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