Russian state-backed hackers have spent more than a decade exploiting a stubborn weakness in critical infrastructure networks. Organizations are still leaving poorly configured and outdated routers exposed to the internet.
In a joint cybersecurity advisory, the NSA, CISA, FBI, and international partners warn that hackers linked to Center 16 of Russia’s Federal Security Service are continuing to target vulnerable networking equipment. Energy, healthcare, and government networks are among the sectors facing the highest risk.
One forgotten device can expose credentials and reveal how a much larger network fits together.
How the routers are being exposed
The hackers scan internet-facing networks for routers running poorly secured versions of Simple Network Management Protocol, better known as SNMP. Devices that accept common or default authentication strings can be instructed to copy their configuration files and send them to attacker-controlled servers.
Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Center 16 cyber actors continue to exploit poorly configured and vulnerable networking devices worldwide, targeting devices across critical infrastructure sectors. These vulnerabilities can give hostile actors access to the systems that… pic.twitter.com/K5Po1v87Fu
Older Cisco equipment presents another route inside. The group has exploited known vulnerabilities and abused Cisco Smart Install, a feature that may remain enabled long after deployment. None of this requires some dazzling Hollywood hack when obsolete protocols and weak configurations are already exposed.
What attackers gain from a router
Router configuration files can contain credentials and show how a network is organized. Once copied, that information helps the hackers identify other systems and choose where to concentrate their efforts.
The campaign focuses on gathering access instead of causing immediate disruption. That quieter approach can keep a compromise hidden while giving the Russian government information it could use as its strategic priorities change. The router is only the first target, and the useful prize sits behind it.
How organizations can close the door
The agencies recommend replacing outdated routers, installing current firmware, and disabling Cisco Smart Install. Network defenders should also move from the obsolete SNMPv1 and SNMPv2 protocols to SNMPv3, which adds stronger authentication and encryption.
Organizations should use strong, unique passwords and restrict management protocols to trusted devices. Suspicious requests and unusual local-account logins also need monitoring.
These are basic security measures, but skipping them means state-backed hackers may never need their cleverest tools. Organizations should audit their internet-facing networking equipment now, starting with any router that no longer receives security updates.
More than $18.4 Million Available to Expand HealthySteps, an Early Childhood Mental Health Initiative that Screened 108,000 New Yorkers for Maternal Depression in 2025
Office of Mental Health Awards $350,000 in ‘Collaborative Care’ Grants to Help OBGYN and Family Medicine Practices Provide Behavioral Health Support to Patients
The New York State Office of Mental Health recently announced the availability of more than $18.4 million to expand HealthySteps, a successful early childhood mental health initiative that provides tens of thousands of critical depression screenings for new mothers annually. The agency also announced $350,000 in awards through the Collaborative Care program to help OBGYN and family medicine practices provide behavioral health support to their patients.
“It is critical that we focus on maternal mental health and develop the preventative services and supports for families in our state that address the long-standing inequities in care,” Office of Mental Health Commissioner Dr. Ann Sullivan said. “Initiatives like HealthySteps, Collaborative Care, Project TEACH and others are providing often life-saving screenings that are also connecting New Yorkers to both prenatal and postpartum supports. Under Governor Kathy Hochul’s leadership, we are increasing prevention services to improve outcomes and eliminating disparities in care.”
“I am grateful to Governor Hochul for her leadership in advancing maternal mental health initiatives in New York State that expand access to critical screenings and services,” Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said. “In recognition of Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week, we are reminded that every mother deserves compassion, support, and quality care. We remain committed to ensuring that all mothers feel supported, heard, and empowered.”
The state Office of Mental Health made available more than $18.4 million to continue expanding HealthySteps, an innovative program integrating behavioral health professionals with pediatric practices to provide early childhood mental and physical health care. The additional funding will provide 38 new awards to the 152 sites now funded, increasing statewide capacity of the program by about 25 percent once all are fully implemented.
HealthySteps pairs behavioral health specialists with pediatricians, who are often the first point-of-contact new caregivers have with the health care system. These specialists then serve as part of the primary care team during well visits, screening children and parents for a variety of concerns including behavioral health, developmental concerns and social determinants of health and family needs and then linking them to supports.
In 2025 alone, HealthySteps sites completed more than 108,000 screenings for perinatal depression, identifying cases and connecting parents to support when needed. Altogether, these sites conducted more than 500,000 screenings, helping to track food insecurity, housing instability, substance misuse, tobacco use, transportation, utility, and interpersonal safety.
In addition to the funding availability, OMH also awarded seven $50,000 one-time Collaborative Care grants to help OBGYN and family medicine practices implement evidence-based integrated healthcare for their patients and decrease racial disparities. Award recipients by region include:
Hudson Valley
New York City
Jamaica Hospital in Queens
Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx
William F. Ryan Community Health Center, Inc., in Manhattan
Western New York
Jericho Road Ministries, Inc., in Buffalo
Neighborhood Health Center of WNY in Buffalo
Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center in Niagara Falls
This funding will expand the psychiatric collaborative care model at these practices so they can increase perinatal depression and anxiety screenings and integrated treatment — a recommendation included in the state’s first-ever maternal mental health report. Directed by Governor Hochul and released by OMH in November, this report detailed the challenges pregnant and postpartum individuals are facing and made recommendations for improvements statewide.
Previously, Governor Hochul secured a $2.9 million increase to expand Project TEACH, an initiative that assists maternal health providers with screening and treatment of maternal depression and related mood and anxiety disorders during pregnancy and the postpartum period within their scope of practice. Adopted as part of the FY 2026 State Budget, the expansion has allowed a wider range of front-line practitioners – including doulas, midwives, therapists, WIC staff, home visiting nurses, lactation consultants, caseworkers and others working directly with the perinatal population – to obtain professional training and support in assessment for consultations with a reproductive psychiatrist or psychologist, and accessing resources.
Every year, an estimated 500,000 – about one in five – mothers in the United States experience perinatal mood and anxiety disorders during pregnancy or in the first year postpartum. About 75 percent of these individuals are not diagnosed or treated, which can lead to high-risk pregnancies, poor childhood cognitive development due to substance use, self-harm, or suicide.
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