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Chinese hackers linked to breach of control systems used in electric grids

JB

Attackers breached Telvent's network, the company has informed its customers in a letter. Telvent is the maker of an industrial control system that remotely controls smart grid networks used in portions of the electric grid.

Telvent told its customers that on Sept. 10, it learned that hackers had breached its internal firewall and security systems, implanted malicious software, and stolen project files.

According to KrebsOnSecurity, which first reported the breach, the project files concerned Telvent's OASyS SCADA product, which offers energy firms a bridge between older technology and advanced smart grid technologies.

Telvent, which is owned by Schneider Electric, told customers that the attack spans operations in the US, Canada and Spain.

Experts detected digital fingerprints implicating a Chinese hacking group that has been tied to cyber-espionage campaigns against Western interests.