Brookhaven National Laboratory Targeted By Russian Hackers Over Summer: Report

UPTON, NY — Brookhaven National Laboratory was targeted by Russian hackers along with two other U.S. national laboratories focused on nuclear research last summer, Reuters reported Friday.

Russian hackers known as "Cold River" targeted Brookhaven, as well as Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, internet records reviewed by Reuters and five cyber security experts show, the outlet reported.

It happened between August and September with the creation of fake login pages for each lab and nuclear scientists were emailed to make them reveal passwords, according to the outlet. It came in the same timeframe as Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated he would be willing to use nuclear weapons, the outlet reported.

In a statement to Patch, a Department of Energy spokesman said: “As part of our ongoing review, the Department of Energy has not found evidence of information being compromised. DOE will continue to work with our federal partners to respond to and investigate any potential threats and breaches, ensuring the scientific research conducted across America’s national laboratories remains safe and secure.”

BNL spokesman Peter Genzer said the lab does not comment "on security matters."

For more in Reuters, click here.

Suffolk County was hacked Sept. 8, leading to a massive disruption of government offices.

A group named Black Cat later claimed responsibility.