Russia criticizes Reuters report that Russian hackers targeted US nuclear scientists

Reuters reported on Jan. 6 that a Russian hacking group known as Cold River targeted three nuclear research laboratories in the United States last summer, according to Internet data reviewed by Reuters and five cybersecurity experts.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the domestic security agency that runs spy campaigns for Moscow, and the Russian Embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment on the Jan. 6 article.

“The latest fake-investigation was unfortunately published by the Reuters news agency,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters.

Zakharova said the story was part of the US government’s campaign to spread anti-Russian propaganda and that the Reuters story lacked facts and relied heavily on the opinions of supposedly independent experts.

“No evidence was given, no facts,” Zakharova said. She went no further.

A Reuters spokesman said: “We stand by our reporting as fair, accurate and consistent with the Thomson Reuters Foundation principles.”

In its coverage, Reuters reviewed Internet records showing hackers such as nuclear scientists sent emails containing weapons links, malware used in hacking attempts and fake login pages to US nuclear lab personnel.

Reuters confirmed its findings with experts from major cyber security firms in Britain, France and the United States, who said the attacks had technical hallmarks of previous Cold River hacking campaigns.