Kursk region hit by cyberattack amid Ukrainian counter-incursion 

The Kursk region of Russia was hit with a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on Thursday, coinciding with a counter-incursion by Ukrainian forces.

Regional officials confirmed the “massive” cyberattack in a statement, with state media reporting that government and business websites, as well as key infrastructure services, were temporarily disrupted.

Internet monitoring service NetBlocks corroborated the reports, stating that their data showed “sporadic...

9 August 2024 | Networks

French municipal services disrupted by cyberattack

Multiple French municipalities have experienced significant disruptions to public services following a "large-scale cyber attack" on shared servers. The ongoing cyber assault has compromised the operational capacity of crucial local government functions, illustrating the growing threat of digital attacks against public infrastructure.

The affected areas – including Saint-Nazaire, Montoir-de-Bretagne, Donges, La Chapelle-des-marais, and Porniche – reported extensive service...

12 April 2024 | Networks

French government cyber crisis teams ‘useless’ against DDoS

Several French government websites and networks have been crippled by an intense and ongoing series of cyberattacks over the past day, with pro-Russian hacker group Anonymous Sudan mocking the government's cyber defense capabilities as "useless" against the onslaught.

The French prime minister's office confirmed the disruptive attacks on Monday, stating that "since [Sunday], several government departments have been the subject of cyberattacks whose technical methods are...

12 March 2024 | Security

Ukrainians grapple with telecoms outages following cyberattack

Ukrainian civilians grappled with a second day of extensive cellular phone and internet outages following a devastating cyberattack on Tuesday.

The attack – orchestrated by Kremlin-backed hackers – targeted Kyivstar, the country's largest mobile phone and Internet provider, affecting 24.3 million mobile subscribers and over 1.1 million home Internet users.

Two hacking groups, Killnet and Solntsepek – both linked to the Russian government – claimed responsibility...

14 December 2023 | Networks

Russian hackers suspected of cyberattack exposing data of 40M citizens

A cyberattack targeting the UK Electoral Commission has exposed the data of up to 40 million citizens. British intelligence services have uncovered evidence linking the cyberattack to Russian hackers.

The attack, described as a "complex cyber attack," targeted the Electoral Commission's computer systems, gaining unauthorised access to sensitive information. The breach was not detected until 14 months after the initial intrusion, prompting questions about the organisation's...

9 August 2023 | Security

Risk Register 2023: Infrastructure cyberattack could harm thousands

In a stark warning, the UK government has alerted the public to the impact of a cyberattack on critical infrastructure.

The findings come from the latest National Risk Register report, which is based on the government’s classified National Security Risk Assessment and considers malicious risks like terrorism and cyberattacks alongside non-malicious risks such as severe weather incidents.

The government estimates there’s a 5-25 percent likelihood of a serious...

4 August 2023 | Security

Hackers force Russian military satellite operator offline

A group of unidentified hackers has taken credit for targeting prominent Russian satellite communications operator Dozor-Teleport.

The network disruption caused by the cyberattack impacted critical services utilised by energy companies, as well as the country's defense and security services.

The attack was perpetrated by an organisation claiming to be affiliated with the Wagner Group, a group of mercenaries financed by the Russian military that staged a coup last month...

3 July 2023 | Networks

Ukraine signs NATO cybersecurity centre accession

Ukraine has formally signed its accession to the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE).

The country applied for CCDCOE membership in August 2021. On 4 March 2022, existing CCDCOE members voted unanimously to accept Ukraine into the organisation.

“We have been actively cooperating with the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence for the last year,” said Yurii Shchyhol, Head of the State Special Communications Service of...

24 January 2023 | Legislation & Government

Pro-Kremlin hackers attack EU Parliament website

Pro-Kremlin hacking group KILLNET has launched a “sophisticated” cyberattack on the EU Parliament website.

The attack was launched after the Parliament designated Russia a state sponsor of terrorism:

https://twitter.com/EP_President/status/1595443471518777345

Users were unable to access the Parliament’s website for a few hours and some parts were rendered inoperable. As of writing, access has been restored.

In a Telegram post, KILLNET claimed...

24 November 2022 | Security

Akamai halts a record-breaking DDoS in Europe

Akamai says that it halted what would have been a record-breaking distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack in Europe.

Another month comes another report of a would-be record DDoS. Last month, Cloudflare detailed a record-breaking DDoS attack that it thwarted in June. This time, it’s the turn of Akamai.

According to Akamai, an undisclosed company was hit by sustained traffic over a 30-day period. That traffic peaked on 21st July when the company was hit with 659.6...

1 August 2022 | Networks