This Thursday, February 24, around 4 a.m., the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, took the floor to announce a Russian ground offensive in Ukraine. But early signs of this offensive had been felt earlier in the day. On Wednesday, February 23, several government sites, including those of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of the Interior and even that of the security services of Ukraine became inaccessible. These attacks also disrupted financial institutions, affecting bank sites.
Similar attacks were observed on Tuesday, February 15, undermining these same state and financial institutions. These are denial of service attacks (DDoS) aimed at rendering a service unavailable and preventing users from using it. They consist of flooding the network with requests, sometimes mobilizing tens of thousands of “zombie” machines in order to put a site out of capacity to respond to them.
Netblocks, which monitors network activity in many parts of the world, noted major internet outages in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, shortly after huge explosions were heard there. The graph thus shows a 25% drop in connectivity. According to several specialists, including cybersecurity experts from ESET Research Labs, a new data-erasing malware was used today in Ukraine. “ESET telemetry shows it has been installed on hundreds of machines in the country“, specifies the organization.
⚠️ Confirmed: Significant internet disruption registered in #Ukraine-controlled city of #Kharkiv shortly after huge explosions heard; users report loss of fixed-line service on provider Triolan while cellphones continue to work ?
? Live Report: https://t.co/S0qJQ7CbNvpic.twitter.com/cVSJg2XtQf
—NetBlocks (@netblocks) February 24, 2022
Also on February 23, the European Union announced the very first deployment of its Cyber Rapid Response Team (CRRT) to Ukraine. That task force aims to provide assistance to EU members and allied countries victims of computer attacks. This specialized team is an integral part of the PESCO program (Permanent Structured Cooperation), which aims to ensure a common military defense in Europe.