State-Sponsored Hackers and Civilian Groups Team Up to Target Critical Infrastructure
A Dragos report details how state-sponsored hackers are increasingly partnering with civilian groups, sharing cyber weapons to execute targeted attacks on critical infrastructure around the world.
Published on April 14, 2025
A recent report by Dragos reveals that state-sponsored hackers are increasingly collaborating with civilian hacking groups, sharing highly sophisticated cyber weapons. These tools have been used to target essential services including utilities, transportation, and manufacturing on a global scale. Notably, the emergence of new threat groups such as BAUXITE further underscores the intensification of these attacks. The report, detailed in sources dated February 25, 2025, emphasizes the escalating risk to critical infrastructure as these alliances leverage shared cyber assets.
Supplemental findings reported by Axios, Cybersecurity Dive, and others indicate that these coordinated operations are not limited to one region. By integrating efforts across state and non-state actors, attackers are broadening their impact on operational technology and industrial control systems, thus posing a substantial threat to water systems, rail transport, and power grids worldwide.