![The cityscape from the tower of the Lviv Town Hall in winter.](https://investologics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/how-russia-linked-malware-cut-heat-to-600-ukrainian-buildings-in-deep-winter.jpg)
Enlarge / The cityscape from the tower of the Lviv Town Hall in winter. (credit: Anastasiia Smolienko / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Industrial cybersecurity firm Dragos on Tuesday revealed a newly discovered sample of Russia-linked malware that it believes was used in a cyberattack in late January to target a heating utility in Lviv, Ukraine, disabling service to 600 buildings for around 48 hours. The attack, in which the malware altered temperature readings to trick control systems into cooling the hot water running through buildings’ pipes, marks the first confirmed case in which hackers have directly sabotaged a heating utility.
![](https://investologics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/how-russia-linked-malware-cut-heat-to-600-ukrainian-buildings-in-deep-winter.png)
Dragos’ report on the malware notes that the attack occurred at a moment when Lviv was experiencing its typical January freeze, close to the coldest time of the year in the region, and that “the civilian population had to endure sub-zero [Celsius] temperatures.” As Dragos analyst Kyle O’Meara puts it more bluntly: “It’s a shitty thing for someone to turn off your heat in the middle of winter.”
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