Russia to launch massive cyber attacks on critical infrastructure in Ukraine and allied countries: Advisory- Technology News, Firstpost

FP staff27 Sep 2022 14:36:16 IST

The government of Ukraine has issued an advisory saying that Putin’s Moscow plans to launch a series of massive cyberattacks that will cripple critical infrastructure in both Ukraine and its allies.

“The enemy will try to use cyber attacks to increase the effect of missile strikes on power supply facilities, primarily in the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine,” the recommendation warns. “The occupation command is convinced that this will slow down the offensive actions of the Forces of Ukraine,” the report says.

The advisory mentions two cyber attacks allegedly carried out by the Russian government. The first took place in 2015, and the second – almost exactly a year later. These attacks overloaded and disabled the Ukrainian power grid, leaving Ukrainians without electricity during one of the coldest months of the year. The recommendation states that these attacks were considered as a proof of concept and a kind of training ground for disrupting Ukraine’s electricity supply.

Both of these hacks were carried out by Kremlin-backed hackers. The attackers used a modified version of the malware called BlackEnergy3 to penetrate the corporate networks of Ukrainian energy companies and then later attack the control and data collection systems that the companies used to generate and transmit electricity.

In 2016, the attacks were more sophisticated, as an entirely new piece of malware was used, developed from the ground up. The malware, named Industroyer and Crash Override, was specifically designed to hack power networks.

Ukraine’s announcement came two weeks after its forces retook large swathes of territory in Kharkiv and other cities that had been The months were under Russian control. Russian President Vladimir Putin last week called for mobilization of 300,000 Russian citizens to support the country’s military invasion of Ukraine.

Most European countries depend on Russia for oil and other forms of energy. With winter approaching and Russia seemingly on the back foot, Ukrainian officials believe state-sponsored Russian hackers will increase attacks on power grids and Internet communications services, increasing the number of DDoS, or distributed denial-of-access attacks. service attacks.

In addition to attacks on electrical networks, Ukraine’s recommendation also warned of other forms of disruption that the country expected from Russia.

“The Kremlin also intends to increase the intensity of DDoS attacks on the critical infrastructure of Ukraine’s closest allies, primarily Poland and the Baltic states,” the recommendation reads.