In November 2018, Russian foreign intelligence agency (SVR)-connected hacking group APT29 launched a large spear-phishing operation directed at multiple sectors of the U.S. economy and government, according to cybersecurity firms Crowdstrike and FireEye. The attacks, which were the first notable actions by the hacking group in over a year, targeted government and law enforcement agencies, think tanks/NGOs, pharmaceutical companies, and transportation infrastructure. APT29 gained notoriety for its hacking of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in 2016 and hacks of the Norwegian and French governments in 2017.