Lucas requests details on Russian 2022 hack of DOE National Labs

U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) requested documents and information related to three U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratories targeted by a Russian hacking team during the summer of 2022.

Rep. Lucas and U.S. Rep. James Comer (R-KY) who are chairmen, respectively, of the U.S. House Science, Space, and Technology Committee and the U.S. House Oversight and Accountability Committee, requested the documents and information related to these incidents on behalf of their committees.

“Although it is unclear whether the attempted intrusions were successful, it is alarming that a hostile foreign adversary targeted government labs working on scientific research critical to the national security and competitiveness of the United States,” wrote Rep. Lucas and Rep. Comer in a Feb. 2 letter sent to U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

Rep. Lucas and his colleague wrote that according to recent reports, a Russian hacking team known to support Russian government information operations created false login pages between August and September 2022 for three DOE National Laboratories and sent emails to nuclear scientists to elicit their passwords.

The targeted labs — Brookhaven National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory — work on scientific research critical to national security and competitiveness. 

The hacking group responsible for the attempted intrusions of DOE National Laboratories, known as Cold River, has been implicated in prior hacking operations targeting key allies of the United States to benefit the Russian government, according to the lawmakers’ letter.

The congressmen told Granholm that they want to determine the impact of the attempted intrusions, and evaluate what the DOE is doing to ensure the continued security of sensitive scientific research and development at its National Laboratories.

They requested Granholm provide documents, communications, and information made between the National Laboratories regarding the Cold River hack covering the time period July 1, 2022, to the present by Feb. 16.