Russia-linked malware can cause electric power disruption in multiple countries: Report

A team of cybersecurity researchers have spotted a new malware that can cause electric power disruption in countries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The malware attacks critical infrastructure systems and electric grids, a report said.

Cybersecurity company Mandiant said that it identified novel operational technology (OT) / industrial control system (ICS)-oriented malware, which it tracks as COSMICENERGY. It said that the malware was uploaded to a public malware scanning utility in December 2021 by a submitter in Russia.

The malware can cause electric power disruption by interacting with devices such as remote terminal units (RTUs) that are commonly leveraged in electric transmission and distribution operations.