Towards a tense winter on the cyber-offensive front in Europe? This is what the American giant Microsoft thinks it knows. In a blog post published on December 3, Clint Watts, general manager of Microsoft’s Digital Threat Analysis Center, raises concerns about an upsurge in Russian digital attacks over the winter.
Risk of manipulation of social networks
Since the end of September, the Russian army has had a string of military defeats on the war front in Ukraine. Supported by the Western powers, the troops of kyiv manage to regain ground. During this period, Russia continued to bomb civilian infrastructure (power stations, water reserves, etc.). A counter-offensive which is accompanied in the digital field by an increase in cyberattacks against Ukrainian administrations and companies. A real war within the war which, little by little, goes beyond the borders of Ukraine.
“Russian military operators have […] extended their destructive cyber activity outside of Ukraine, to Poland [dans] a vital logistics hub, with the aim of disrupting the flow of weapons and supplies to the front“, reports Microsoft. An extension of the conflict in cyberspace which also involves the manipulation of information in Europe: for several months, Moscow would reinforce “some online accounts through state-affiliated media outlets and social media accounts [russe].”
First cyberattacks in Poland
Until then, Russian attacks were few around the globe, in terms of the forces present, but, with the arrival of winter, experts fear an outbreak of cyber threats. “We believe these recent trends suggest that the world needs to be prepared for several potential attack lines from Russia in the digital realm this winter.“, assures the Microsoft Digital Threat Analysis Center. Europe would be particularly targeted and could suffer from ransomware attacks.
In both Poland and Ukraine, ransomware called Prestige has recently been deployed against logistics and transport networks. According to the researchers, the Iridium group, also known as Sandworm, was at work, in association with the GRU, the Russian military intelligence service. This type of attack could be reproduced more widely against countries and companies that provide support to Ukraine.
In parallel with cyberattacks, Microsoft expects an intensification of influence operations on the Old Continent. “Russia will seek to exploit loopholes in popular support for Ukraine to undermine coalitions critical to Ukraine’s resilience, hoping to harm humanitarian and military aid flowing into the region“, says the American firm.
The Group’s Digital Threat Analysis Center has worked to strengthen the security of its customers. In France, companies vital to the nation are classified as OIV, organizations of vital importance. A status that earns them in-depth monitoring by services specializing in cyber threats.