A series of cyberattacks knocked the websites of the Ukrainian military, defense ministry and major banks offline on Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said, as tensions continue to rise over the threat of a possible Russian invasion.
Still, there was no indication that relatively low-level, distributed-denial-of-service attacks could be a smokescreen for more serious and harmful cyber mischief.
At least 10 Ukrainian websites were inaccessible due to the attacks, including the ministries of defence, foreign and culture, and Ukraine’s two largest state-run banks. In such attacks, websites are flooded with junk data packets, making them inaccessible.
“We have no information on other disruptive actions that may be hidden by this DDoS attack,” said Viktor Zora, a top Ukrainian cyber defense official. He said emergency response teams were working to kill the attackers and restore services.
Customers of Ukraine’s largest state-owned bank, Privatbank and state-owned Sberbank, reported problems with online payments and the banks’ apps.
Doug Madori, director of internet analysis at network management firm Kentik Inc., said the attackers’ targets were hosting providers for Ukraine’s military and PrivetBank.
“There is no threat to depositors’ funds. Nor did the attack affect the communications of Ukrainian military forces,” Zora’s agency, the Strategic Communications and Information Security Center of Ukraine’s Ministry of Information, said in a statement. said.
He said it was too early to say who was behind the attack.
The ministry’s statement suggested Russian involvement: “It is possible that the attacker resorted to petty mischief tactics, as his offensive plans are not working as a whole,” the Ukrainian statement said.
Quick attribution is usually difficult in cyber attacks, as attackers often try to hide their tracks.
“We need to analyze logs from IT providers,” Zora said.
Ole Derevyanko, a leading private sector expert and founder of the ISSP cyber security firm, said Ukrainians are always concerned that such “noisy” cyber attacks could turn into something more sinister.
Growing fears about a Russian invasion of Ukraine eased slightly as Russia sent signals on Tuesday that it could retreat from the brink, but Western powers demanded proof.
Cyber Attack Still Characteristic Of Russian President Vladimir PutinWho likes to try to keep his opponents off balance.
“These attacks are increasing attention and pressure,” said Christian Sorensen, CEO of cyber security firm CytGen, which previously worked for US Cyber Command. “The aim at this stage is to increase leverage in the negotiations.”
Ukraine has been subject to a steady diet of Russian aggression in cyberspace since 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula and backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
On January 14, a cyberattack damaged servers in Ukraine’s State Emergency Service and Motor Transport Insurance Bureau with a malicious “wiper” masquerading as ransomware. The damage proved minimal – some cybersecurity experts believe it was by design given the capabilities of Russian state-backed hackers. A message posted simultaneously on dozens of distorted Ukrainian government websites said: “Fear and expect the worst.”
2 on Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Serhi Demedyuk, called the January 14 attack “part of a full-scale Russian operation aimed at destabilizing the situation in Ukraine, aimed at detonating our Euro-Atlantic integration.” and to seize power.”
Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike later said such attacks are apt to continue as Putin tries to “humiliate” and “represent” trust in Ukrainian institutions. blog post,
In the winter of 2015 and 2016, Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency was blamed for attacks on Ukraine’s power grid, which caused a temporary power outage.
Russia’s GRU is also to blame for perhaps the most devastating cyberattack of all time. Targeting companies doing business in Ukraine in 2017, the NotPetya virus caused more than $10 billion (about Rs 75,210 crore) worldwide damage. Disguised as ransomware, this virus was a “wiper” virus that wiped out entire networks.
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