A nuclear power plant in eastern Kansas was one target of computer hackers organized by Russia's spy agency as part of a large-scale international operation to seize control over critical infrastructure assets in the U.S., the Department of Justice alleged in an indictment unsealed Thursday.
Three agents with Russia's Federal Security Service — Pavel Akulov, Mikhail Gavrilov and Marat Tyukov — face charges in the U.S. District of Kansas after a federal grand jury was convened last summer in Kansas City, Kansas. The agents are accused of computer fraud, wire fraud, identity theft and causing damage to the property of an energy facility.
The Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation, based in Burlington, is named in the indictment as one of hundreds of U.S. energy sector operations targeted by Russian intelligence. Through their efforts, the agents allegedly used a spearphishing method to compromise the company's computer systems in which they sent emails while posing as employees.
