04/28/2022 08:20 (act 04/28/2022 12:54)
Russian cyberattacks are said to have started preparations in March 2021. ©pixabay.com (subject)
According to Microsoft, more than 200 hacking attacks by Russian groups have been carried out against Ukraine since the beginning of the war. Network attacks are often coordinated with battlefield attacks.
According to a report by US technology group Microsoft, Russian-allied hacking groups are responsible for more than 200 cyberattacks in Ukraine. “Since just before the invasion, we’ve seen at least six different Russian-allied nation-state actors launch more than 237 operations against Ukraine,” Microsoft said Wednesday.
Russian cyber attacks often coordinated with on-the-spot attacks
Thus, network attacks are often coordinated with battlefield attacks. For example, according to the report, Russian hackers attacked a major Ukrainian radio station in late February during the first week of the hack. “On the same day, the Russian military announced its intention to destroy Ukrainian ‘disinformation’ targets.” At the same time, he attacked a television tower in Kiev with a rocket.
The purpose of these coordinated attacks is “to disrupt or harm the Ukrainian government and military functions,” said Microsoft, which works with Ukrainian officials. Thus, “public trust in the same institutions must be undermined.” According to Microsoft, it was able to track numerous attacks on government institutions and key infrastructure in Ukraine.
Russian hacking groups work with various methods
Hacker groups used various methods. They gained access through so-called phishing attacks, in which hackers fraudulently eavesdrop on access data. They also exploited known security holes in systems that had not yet been updated or attacked IT service providers. If they had access to Ukrainian systems, they would seek information about the Ukrainian military and foreign partners, for example, or delete important data.
Preparations for cyber attacks a year before the war in Ukraine
The report claims that cyberattacks had already started preparations in March 2021 – nearly a year before Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine. Microsoft pointed out that “the attacks we see likely represent only a fraction of the activity targeted at Ukraine.”
The company added that these attacks are likely to continue and increase, particularly against countries that support the Ukrainian government against Russia. Just over a week ago, the United States and four other countries warned that their intelligence agencies had information that Russia was preparing massive cyberattacks against Ukraine’s allies.