[The hackers are accused of causing an emergency shutdown at a Saudi oil plant (File photo by= Reuters)]

The US has charged four Russians government employees with cyber-attacks on the global energy sector. They are accused of targeting hundreds of companies and organizations in around 135 countries between 2012-2018, BBC reported.
 
Their activities are said to have caused two separate emergency shutdowns at one facility in Saudi Arabia. The conspiracy then allegedly attempted to hack the computers of a company that managed similar critical infrastructure entities in the US. Some of the individuals are linked by the US indictment to the FSB, Russia's security service. The UK has also sanctioned a Russian defense organization said to be linked to the attack.

US President Joe Biden this week warned of possible cyber-attacks linked to the Ukraine conflict but these indictments involve activity dating back before it began. US Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said: "Russian state-sponsored hackers pose a serious and persistent threat to critical infrastructure both in the United States and around the world. The accused are alleged to have installed backdoors and launched malicious software designed to compromise the safety of energy facilities. Two separate groups are accused. Russia has always denied the accusations of cyber-attacks.