Russia Behind DDoS Cyberattacks That Took Down Ukraine Banks: US, UK

Russian navy hackers had been behind a spate of distributed denial of service (DDoS) assaults that briefly knocked Ukrainian banking and authorities web sites offline, the US and the UK mentioned on Friday.

US deputy nationwide safety adviser Anne Neuberger instructed journalists on the White Home that Washington was looking for to carry Russia to account for its aggressive strikes in our on-line world.

“Russia likes to maneuver within the shadows and counts on an extended strategy of attribution,” Neuberger mentioned. “In gentle of that, we’re transferring shortly to attribute the DDoS assaults. We consider the Russian authorities is accountable for widespread assaults on Ukrainian banks this week.”

Neuberger mentioned that People have information displaying that infrastructure related with Russia’s navy company, generally called the GRU, “was seen transmitting excessive volumes of communication to Ukraine-based IP addresses and domains.”

In a simultaneous announcement, British officers mentioned the GRU was “nearly definitely concerned” within the DDoS, which works by flooding focused web sites with a firehose of information.

“The assault confirmed a continued disregard for Ukrainian sovereignty,” Britain’s International Commonwealth and Improvement Workplace (FCDO) mentioned in a assertion. “This exercise is one more instance of Russia’s aggressive acts towards Ukraine.”

“This disruptive behaviour is unacceptable,” the FCDO mentioned.

Russia has denied any function within the DDoS, which inflicted comparatively restricted disruption on Tuesday.

Kyiv had already blamed Moscow for the DDoS amid heightened tensions since Russia started massing troops close to the border, elevating fears Russia was planning to assault. The Kremlin has denied it plans to push deeper into the nation.

Neuberger mentioned that whereas the denial of service had “restricted impression,” the latest spate of malicious digital exercise might be a prelude to “extra disruptive cyberattacks accompanying a possible additional invasion of Ukraine’s sovereign territory.”

© Thomson Reuters 2022