US Says It Secretly Removes Malware Worldwide, Caring for the Russians

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Another attack occurred on February 24, the day Russia invaded Ukraine, when hackers took Viasat offline. Viasat said the attack flooded modems with malicious traffic and disrupted internet services to several thousand people in Ukraine and tens of thousands of other customers in Europe. in a statement. The attack also spread to Germany, interrupting the operations of the wind turbines there.

Viasat said the attack was under investigation by law enforcement, U.S. and international government officials, and the cybersecurity firm Mandiant it hired to investigate the matter and did not attribute the attack to Russia or any other state-sponsored group.

But senior US officials said all evidence points to Russia being responsible. Security researchers at SentinelOne He said the malware used in the Viasat attack was similar to code linked to the GRU. The United States has not officially identified Russia as the source of the attack, but is expected to do so as soon as several allies join the analysis.

In late March, a cyberattack again disrupted communications services in Ukraine. This time, the attack focused on Ukrtelecom, a phone and internet service provider, leaving the company’s services offline for several hours. The attack was “the most severe, ongoing and intensifying nationwide disruption in service recorded since the invasion of Russia.” According to NetBlocksA group that monitors internet outages.

Ukrainian officials believe Russia is most likely responsible for the attack, which has yet to be traced back to a specific hacking group.

“Russia was interested in cutting off communications between our armed forces and our troops, and this was partially successful at the very beginning of the war,” said Victor Zhora, a senior official of Ukraine’s cybersecurity agency, the State Special Communications and Information Service. Protection. Ukrainian officials said Russia is also behind trying to spread disinformation about a surrender.

In the United States, officials fear similar cyberattacks could hit critical infrastructure companies. Some executives said they hoped the federal government would offer funding for cybersecurity.



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