The Treasury Department\u2019s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Friday sanctioned a Russian government research institution for alleged use of a dangerous malware virus to target critical infrastructure facilities in the U.S. and in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
The sanctions were levied against the State Research Center of the Russian Federation FGUP Central Scientific Research Institute of Chemistry and Mechanics, or TsNIIKhM, which, according to the Treasury Department, used a malware virus known as \u201cTriton\u201d to target and manipulate control systems used to shut down critical infrastructure facilities in the event of an emergency in order to save lives.<\/p>\n
The Triton malware was used by hackers in 2017 to target a petrochemical plant in the Middle East, successfully disrupting operations, and again last year to scan and probe at least 20 U.S. electric facilities for cyber vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Russian Government continues to engage in dangerous cyber activities aimed at the United States and our allies,\u201d Treasury Secretary\u00a0Steven Mnuchin<\/a>\u00a0said in a statement Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cThis Administration will continue to aggressively defend the critical infrastructure of the United States from anyone attempting to disrupt it.\u201d<\/p>\n