The Kiev government defends itself from Russia's military and cyber offensive

The cyber front, the other battleground in the Ukrainian war

photo_camera REUTERS/KACPER PEMPEL - A hooded hacker holds a laptop computer.

The war in Ukraine is expanding beyond the country and beyond the war. Although the conflict is taking place in a specific place without the intervention of national armies, thousands of foreign fighters have arrived in the country to fight against Russian troops. In addition, several governments have agreed to send arms directly to Ukrainian forces.

On the other hand, the battle has moved into other fields, such as cyberspace. Shortly after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, the hacker collective Anonymous declared "cyberwar" against the Moscow regime. "Our operations target the Russian government," the organisation announced on its Twitter account.

PHOTO/FILE- Anonymous

Since then, Anonymous has attacked several key institutions of the Russian Federation, such as the Federal Security Service (FSB) or the state agency that oversees the media, the Roskomnadzor. Since the Russian offensive in Ukraine began, this agency has been responsible for censoring and silencing all dissenting voices denouncing or reporting on the war. Certain words, such as 'invasion' and 'offensive', are banned when talking about the conflict. 

AP/EMILIO MORENATTI - Un hombre pasa por delante de un edificio dañado tras un ataque con cohetes, en Kiev, Ucrania, el viernes 25 de febrero de 2022

This has caused media outlets such as The Echo of Moscow or TV Rain to stop operating for fear of reprisals. Even the famous newspaper Novaya Gazeta, run by Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov, has accepted censorship in order to remain open. The renowned journalist Anna Politkovskaya, one of the most vocal critics of the war in Chechnya, worked at the newspaper until her assassination in 2006. 

PHOTO/AP - Una mujer sostiene una pancarta "Stop the war" durante una protesta contra la invasión rusa de Ucrania en el centro de Moscú el 3 de marzo de 2022

In response to this attack on press freedom, Anonymous has leaked more than 360,000 files and two Roskomnadzor databases. The leak weighs in at 820 GB and contains 363,994 documents, some of them recent, spread across 43,593 directories.

Continuing in the anti-censorship vein, the hacker collective has also announced a hack of Russian TV channels Russia 24, Channel One and Moscow 24 and Russian streaming services Wink and Ivi. A Twitter account associated with Anonymous posted a video with images of the war in Ukraine that disrupts broadcasts on these channels. The recording ends with a message: "ordinary Russians are against the war".

AP/DMITRY LOVETSKY - La policía detiene a manifestantes durante una acción contra el ataque de Rusia a Ucrania en San Petersburgo, Rusia, el lunes 28 de febrero de 2022
Kiev creates a "computer army"

Ukraine is currently under military aggression from Russia. For years, however, the Kiev government has been the target of cyber-attacks by Russian hackers. These hackers have managed to cut Kiev's electricity for hours, block the websites of some ministries or attack the systems of some national banks. One of the last hacks that Kiev suffered before the invasion occurred in January and was accompanied by a threatening message: "Ukrainian, be afraid and prepare for the worst". 

PHOTO/Imagen del sitio web del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores - Páginas web del gobierno ucraniano han sido afectados por un gran ataque cibernético esta mañana

For this reason, as well as militarily, Volodymyr Zelensky's government is also defending itself against Moscow's cyber offensive. To this end, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, Mikhail Fedorov, has announced the creation of an "IT army". "We need digital talent. There will be tasks for everyone. We continue to fight on the cyber front. The first task is in the channel for cyber specialists," Fedorov wrote on his Twitter account, accompanied by a link to a Telegram channel. 

AFP PHOTO / OFICINA DE PRENSA DE LA PRESIDENCIA DE UCRANIA - El presidente ucraniano, Volodymyr Zelensky, instó el 28 de febrero a la Unión Europea a conceder a su país la adhesión inmediata, mientras el asalto de Rusia contra el país prooccidental entraba en su quinto día

This "cyber army" has received a similar reception as the "foreign legion" announced by Zelensky. According to Ukrainian authorities, more than 400,000 volunteers have signed up to fight Russia cyber. In addition, cyber forces claim to have attacked the websites of the Moscow Stock Exchange and the country's largest bank, Sberbank. 

AP/EVGENY MALOLETKA  -   Base de defensa aérea tras un aparente ataque ruso en Mariupol, Ucrania, el jueves 24 de febrero de 2022. Las tropas rusas han lanzado su ataque anticipado contra Ucrania. Grandes explosiones se escucharon antes del amanecer en Kyiv, Kharkiv y Odesa

Ukrainian cyber guerrillas also told Reuters of their plans to attack parts of Russia's infrastructure, such as its electricity grid. They are even targeting the satellite navigation system or the Belarusian railway network, which is used to transport troops to Ukraine, reports Expansión. The Belarusian opposition group Cyber Partisans, founded in 2020 to leak data from the government of Alexander Lukashenko, plays a key role here. Cyber Partisans claimed to have attacked the country's train services. 

AP/ANDREW MARIENKO - Soldados ucranianos manipulan equipos en las afueras de Kharkiv, Ucrania

In this regard, Mike Hamilton, former vice president of the coordinating council of the US Department of National Services and director of information security at the cybersecurity company Critical Insight, warns the Spanish business media of the serious consequences of this cyber battle. "If one of these activists, one of these volunteers, takes something down and someone dies, it will be the first shot," Hamilton says. 

AP/OLEKSANDR RATUSHNIAK  -   Militares ucranianos caminan junto a los fragmentos de un avión derribado en Kiev, Ucrania, el viernes 25 de febrero de 2022

On the other hand, Kiev is also considering moving its relevant computer data abroad. However, as Victor Zhora, deputy head of Ukraine's State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection, explained to Reuters, these preparations were "just contingency plans".

Predictably, Russian hackers have responded to attacks by Anonymous and the Ukrainian computer army. "Those who support the Russian government and its invasion of Ukraine are preparing to retaliate against a number of different targets," Alex Holden, an expert on Russian ransomware groups, told The News York Times. A Telegram channel called Russian Cyber Front has threatened to attack Kiev government websites in response to the Ukrainian attacks. 

Also, the Conti ransomware has announced its support for Moscow during the war. "If someone decides to organise a cyberattack or any war activity against Russia, we will use all our possible resources to strike back at an enemy's critical infrastructure," the group said in a statement. 

The CyberPeace Institute has denounced that, as part of the offensive against Ukraine, Russian cyberattacks "are, and have been, targeting critical infrastructure and civilian objects". CyberPeace Institute highlights some targets, such as 30 Ukrainian university websites, a border post with Romania and the Kyiv Post media.

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