As the conflict that is raging between Ukraine and Russia continues to rage with all of its power, the fear that Russia is likely to begin a massive cyber war as a result of the attack on Ukraine is becoming more frequent. There was never a cyber-attack that was a major disaster and life-threatening damage or altered the course of conflict. But chaos is raging in the cyber world. Ukraine is facing a huge amount of cyber-attacks that are small in size by unknown source. According to an intelligence source for cyber security there has been an increase of 196% in attempts to target the Ukrainian government and the army.
Based on the information gathered from the investigation, it was concluded that there was not a massive successfully fought, besides that some websites could only remain operational for any longer than a brief period.
Experts are monitoring both countries with keen interest. They are concerned that the conflict between one of the world’s most renowned hackers’ superpowers could spread online, creating a conflicts and a crisis that may last longer than physical conflict. Security officials across Europe and the West have been concerned for a long time about what Russian hackers could do and are constantly ready for the shock of a massive attack. Experts have said for years that the coming war will be fought on the cyberspace. This is why the all eyes are on the three Russian cyberattacks that the west most fears.
Ukraine is often referred to as Russia’s hacking paradise that conducts attacks to test methods and tools. In 2015 the power grid of Ukraine was disrupted by an attack known as BlackEnergy that caused an interruption in service to around 80,000 people of a utility firm located in the west of Ukraine. Then, a year later another cyberattack, called Industroyer that shut off electricity to around one-fifth the capital city of Ukraine, Kiev for almost an hour. It was reported that the US as well as the EU have blamed Russian cybercriminals for the attack.
NotPetya is regarded as the most expensive cyber attack in the history of cybercrime and the collection consisting of Russian military hackers have been accused of being responsible in the eyes of US, UK and EU officials. The malicious software was disguised as an update for popular accounting software in Ukraine and spread to other countries infecting the computers of a multitude of businesses and causing over 10 billion dollars in damages.
The 20th of May in the year 2021 saw a statewide emergency declared by several US states following hacker attacks that caused the closure of a crucial oil pipeline. The Colony Pipeline carries 45% of the east coast’s gasoline, diesel and jet fuel and is causing panic at the pumps. The attack was not caused via Russian security forces, however it was carried out rather by the DarkSide ransomware-related group known to be operating in Russia. The pipeline company has admitted to the hackers $4.4 million in difficult-to-track Bitcoin to ensure its systems up and functioning.
Just a few weeks later, meat producers were impacted when another ransomware group called REvil was able to attack JBS the world’s biggest processor of beef.
