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The ukrainian warwhose beginnings have already passed more than 100 days, also has its echo on the Internet. In recent months, heterogeneous groups of ‘hacktivists’ such as Anonymous, or the IT Army organized by the Zelensky’s government, have managed to take down hundreds of websites of Russian companies and institutions and steal huge amounts of information. Now, in addition, we know for a fact that other powers are adding their grain of sand to cause problems in Russian networks. That is the case of the United States, which is resorting to military ‘hackers’ within the Cyber Command, in charge of General Paul Nakasone.
In a recent interview with ‘Sky News’, Nakasone acknowledged, without giving too many details about it, that the United States Army had carried out “a series of operations” against Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
These “operations”, moreover, would have been of all kinds: “offensive, defensive and information (gathering)”.
It should be remembered that the United States, like the rest of the countries of the OTANhave repeatedly pledged not to enter into direct conflict with Russia as long as the Russian soldiers do not plant their boots on the territory of any of the member states. However, based on Nakasone’s words, it seems that this commitment does not extend to the Internet.
Asked last week about whether the actions that the North American Army Cyber Command is carrying out on the Internet violate the commitment not to interfere directly in the conflict, Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary, was blunt: “I don’t we see it as such,” he settled, according to ‘CNN’.
‘Glory to Ukraine!’
Since the beginning of the invasion, cybersecurity and administration companies have warned of the potential risk of Russia attempting to launch large-scale cyberattacks against critical infrastructure in countries that support the Zelensky government. Especially considering that, to date, Moscow is taking the most hits on the Internet battlefield.
The Kremlin itself has acknowledged on several occasions that Russia is facing a wave of cyberattacks unprecedented in the country’s history. The same is pointed out in several studies carried out by the main cybersecurity companies.
Precisely, just a few days ago the firm ESET shared that the attacks of ‘ransomware‘ -aimed at hijacking equipment and data, usually with the aim of demanding a ransom from the victim in exchange for regaining control- had increased to make Russia the country most attacked with this type of malicious code, with 12% of the total detections.
ESET researchers also came across hijacks of Russian computers where screens would freeze with the phrase ‘Glory to Ukraine!‘ (Glory to the Ukraine!, in Spanish). “Previously, ransomware groups knew it was not a good idea to attack Russia if they wanted to avoid trouble. Once the war began, some actors have begun to launch attacks, even to simply cause damage. Without an economic motivation, ”explains Josep Albors, head of research and awareness of the cybersecurity company, in a conversation with ABC.
Fear of retaliation
The lack of major attacks that have caused problems on Western networks draws the attention of cybersecurity experts. Over the past few months, some analysts say this could be because the West has done a great job of protecting its infrastructure, while others say Russia could have fear of retaliation should it start launching large-scale cyberattacks against NATO countries. Albors is precisely of the latter opinion.
All in all, Russia promises to respond to those countries that may be launching attacks against the country. Andrei Krutskikh, the top cyber expert at the Russian Foreign Ministry, warned the US on Monday about the risks: “We do not recommend that the United States provoke Russia into taking retaliatory measures. An answer will certainly follow. It will be firm and determined. However, the result of this ‘disorder’ could be catastrophic, because there will be no winners in a direct cyber clash of states.”
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