Cybersecurity company Dragos recently released a report detailing how electricity, oil, gas, and other critical infrastructure facilities are being increasingly targeted by cyberattackers who seek to compromise industrial control systems (ICS) and operational technology (OT). If compromised, ICS and OT can enable attackers to disrupt or tamper with critical services. The report from Dragos details ten different hacking operations that are known to actively target industrial systems in North America and Europe. Dragos also warned that this malicious activity is likely to grow over the next year.

Among the ten operations includes several state-backed hacking gang such as Electrum/Sandworm, which is linked to the Russian military, and Covellite, which has ties to North Korea’s Lazarus Group. Vanadinite is also on the list and has ties to a hacking group working on behalf of China. Dragos warns that more and more critical infrastructure is connected to the internet, making it accessible to staff by remote desktop protocols and VPNs. Therefore, they are increasingly easy and attractive targets for malicious hacking groups interesting in breaching networks. Although it could take years to conduct a successful attack and understand the intricacies of the OT systems, hackers may be working to lay the groundwork for a major attack now.

Read More: These ten hacking groups have been targeting critical infrastructure and energy