Technology Advances Make It Easier to Assign Blame for Cyberattacks

AI and sophisticated data gathering are making it easier for firms and governments to attribute hacks in months, not years

Figuring out who exactly is responsible for a cyberattack is an inexact science, but advances in machine learning and years of data-gathering on hacks are making it easier than ever for law-enforcement officials and cybersecurity specialists to name the likely culprits.

Governments around the world, once reluctant to point fingers after a cyberattack, have issued a string of indictments in recent months related to several high-profile breaches. On Thursday, the U.S. Justice Department charged seven Russian military officers...