Russian research center tied to Trisis malware sanctioned

The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control has imposed sanctions against the State Research Center of the Russian Federation Central Scientific Research Institute of Chemistry and Mechanics, or TsNIIKhM, for its involvement in the development of the Trisis malware, also known as Triton, CyberScoop reports. TsNIIKhM Director Sergei Alekseevich Bobkov, TsNIIKhM Deputy Director Konstantin Vasilyevich Malevanyy, and Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh, who allegedly developed the malware, have also been sanctioned. "Gladkikh, along with other TsNIIKhM and ADC employees, played a crucial role in the August 2017 Triton malware cyberattack, specifically targeting the petrochemical facility’s safety instrumented systems, seeking to disrupt the facility’s cybersecurity systems, as well as the facility’s distributed controls systems. Gladkikh’s malicious cyber actions resulted in the facility undergoing an emergency shutdown on at least two occasions," said the Treasury Department in a statement. Information helping lead to the capture of Gladkikh is also being sought by prosecutors, who have posted a $10 million reward.