Ukraine faces more cyber attacks amid fears of the Russian invasion

 

Ukraine faces more cyber attacks amid fears of the Russian invasion

Ukraine is grappling with more cyberattacks as fears of an imminent Russian invasion come to a head. Netblocks and Gizmodo reported that Ukraine's Defense Ministry and two state-owned banks, Oshchadbank and Privatbank, suffered denial-of-service attacks that flooded their sites with traffic. The position of the country's armed forces also appears to have been attacked. Christopher Miller of BuzzFeed described the consequences for many Ukrainians, including difficulties using some ATMs and other banking services.

The attacks were not directly attributed to Russia but came a month after Ukraine blamed its neighbor for a crackdown that has caused chaos with dozens of government websites. The perpetrators used purely destructive malware disguised as ransomware to inflict severe damage. Russia has previously been accused of relying on cyberwarfare to disrupt and influence political rivals in the USA and  European Union countries. However, it has repeatedly denied its involvement.

As you might imagine, the concern is that Russia may use such cyberattacks to wreak havoc ahead of the invasion that the US has claimed could happen as soon as tomorrow (February 16). In theory, it may be difficult for Ukraine to implement an adequate response. However, the January attacks came and went without military action, and these recent events would do little to frustrate the Ukrainian military or its allies. The unrest could represent pressure tactics to extract concessions, such as a promise not to join NATO if Russia is involved.