Hackers cut off heating in Lviv last winter with new malware FrostyGoop

In January 2024, Lviv residents faced a central heating shutdown due to a cyberattack on the municipal energy company.

Here's What We Know

Dragos researchers found that the outage was caused by a new malware called FrostyGoop, which targets industrial control systems. FrostyGoop communicates with devices via the Modbus protocol, making it potentially dangerous to other facilities around the world.

The attack led to heating shutdowns in more than 600 apartment blocks for 48 hours. The hackers gained access to the company's network through a vulnerability in the MikroTik internet router and used Russian IP addresses to connect. Despite this, researchers were unable to link the attack to a specific hacker group or government.

Ukrainian authorities quickly neutralised the effects of the attack and restored services. This incident highlights the increased efforts of attackers to target critical infrastructure such as energy grids and the need to strengthen cybersecurity measures.

Source: Tech Crunch