In a recent turn of events, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been in full development. Although the tension has been building up for a while, it’s not until recently that is has been covered by worldwide news coverage. The worldwide news coverage shows the physical destruction along the way. In the past, we have seen how war knows no boundaries when it comes to choosing a battleground; wars in the past have been held in the sky, ground, ocean, and even space. For this reason, it is not surprising that a battle ground would be held in the form of cyber security attacks among nations and cyber-attack groups.
One of the most well-known cyber-attack groups, known as Anonymous, has recently declared a cyber war against Russia, in response to the attacks against Ukraine. By following their lead, other cyber groups and individuals have begun to take steps in an attempt to assist Ukraine in their war efforts.
Over the course of the last few weeks, Ukraine and Russia have been engaged in conflict, resulting in the loss of many lives and the destruction of fields, roads, buildings, and property. Although both sides may have their reasons for battle or resistance, the vast majority of the world is backing the Ukrainians as they hold their own against the Russian offense. Among those who are backing the country of Ukraine, is the infamous hacker group known as Anonymous.
To further understand the intent of Anonymous, we have to look at the history of the organization. The organization has been around since 2003 and has taken ownership of a few of the biggest data breaches of all time. The organization normally targets governments and organizations. However, the organization says their only victims are those who they accuse of censorship. Since 2003, they have participated in dozens of protests and data breaches, some of which have been known to last multiple years.
The Anonymous group is decentralized and composed of international individuals. The group members follow a simple set of rules: not disclosing one’s identity, not talking about the group, and not attacking the media. Anyone can join Anonymous as long as the rules are followed; this allows for the group to accumulate a large skill set of individuals with different strengths. On February 24th, an account on Twitter, named Anonymous, publicly announced that they would be taking steps against the country of Russia.
After the invasion of Ukraine, by orders of Vladimir Putin, Anonymous considered the actions by the Russian Federation to be unethical and ridded with censorship. Since their declaration of cyber war with the country, the decentralized group has disabled Russian government websites, leaked documents and emails belonging to the country, and even hacked into Russian television sources to display uncensored news during the invasion and attacks against Ukraine.
Although Anonymous isn’t the only organization launching cyber-attacks, it is by far the most covered by the media. Russia, for example, has been launching cyber-attacks to neighboring countries including Ukraine for the past couple of years. After the Russian invasion of the Crimean Peninsula in 2015, suspected Russian hackers managed to knock out electric power for approximately 230,000 customers in western Ukraine. The attackers repeated it the following year, and even expanded the list of targets to include government agencies and the banking system.
In the hours before Russian troops invaded Ukraine, the country was hit by a form of malware they designed to wipe data. Although it is difficult to confirm the exact origin of the attacks, there are only a few possible suspects for the perpetuators of the attacks.
Businesses may not be as big as a government agency, however that doesn’t mean the data that is handled by a company needs to be handled carelessly. Cyber security is important to make sure private and company sensitive data is not stolen and mishandled. The people and businesses are what forms the roots of a country.
For this reason, everyone must take care in protecting data from prying eyes and data loss.
At Firestorm cyber we have equipment and services to protect your data. We work with the you to provide personalized service, catered to your needs. From anything as simple as just a firewall or full support, Firestorm is there to provide a seamless experience whether you’re at the office or working from home. Visit out website at firestormcyber.com or give us a call for more details about how we can assist in protecting your business from hidden criminals.