Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

The 3 Russian cyber-attacks the West most fears

The 3 Russian cyber-attacks the West most fears

US President Joe Biden has called on private companies and organisations in the US to "lock their digital doors", claiming that intelligence suggests Russia is planning a cyber-attack on the US.

The UK's cyber-authorities are also supporting the White House's calls for "increased cyber security precautions", though neither has given any evidence that Russia is planning a cyber-attack.

Russia has previously stated that such accusations are "Russophobic".

However, Russia is a cyber-superpower with a serious arsenal of cyber-tools, and hackers capable of disruptive and potentially destructive cyber-attacks.

Ukraine has remained relatively untroubled by Russian cyber-offensives but experts now fear that Russia may go on a cyber-offensive against Ukraine's allies.

"Biden's warnings seem plausible, particularly as the West introduced more sanctions, hacktivists continue to join the fray, and the kinetic aspects of the invasion seemingly don't go to plan," says Jen Ellis from cyber-security firm Rapid7.

Here are the hacks that experts most fear.

BlackEnergy - targeted critical infrastructure attack


Ukraine is often described as the hacking playground of Russia, which has carried out attacks there seemingly to test techniques and tools.

In 2015 Ukraine's electricity grid was disrupted by a cyber-attack called BlackEnergy, which caused a short-term blackout for 80,000 customers of a utility company in western Ukraine.

Ukraine's energy grid has been attacked twice by hackers


Nearly exactly a year later another cyber-attack known as Industroyer took out power for about one-fifth of Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, for around an hour.

The US and EU named and blamed Russian military hackers for the attacks.

"Russia could absolutely try to execute an attack like this against the West as an illustration of capabilities and to make a statement," says Ukrainian cyber-security responder Marina Krotofil, who helped investigate the power-cut hacks.

"However, no cyber-attack against a power grid has resulted in an extended interruption of power supply. Executing cyber-attacks on complex engineering systems in a reliable way is extremely difficult and achieving a prolonged damaging effect is sometimes impossible due to in-built protections."

Experts like Marina also hypothesise that this could backfire on Russia too, as the West most likely also has a decent foothold in Russian networks too.

NotPetya - uncontrollable destruction


NotPetya is thought to be the most costly cyber-attack in history and has been blamed on a group of Russian military hackers by the US, UK and EU authorities.

The destructive software was hidden in an update of popular accounting software used in Ukraine, but spread worldwide destroying the computer systems of thousands of companies and causing approximately $10bn of damage.

North Korean hackers are accused of causing huge disruption with a similar attack a month earlier.

This is what victims of WannaCry saw on their computers


The WannaCry "worm" (a kind of virus) scrambled data on approximately 300,000 computers in 150 countries. The UK's National Health Service was forced to cancel large numbers of medical appointments.

"These kinds of attacks would cause the greatest opportunity for mass chaos, economic instability, and even loss of life," says Jen Ellis.

"It might sound far-fetched, but critical infrastructure often depends on connected technologies just as much as every other part of our modern lives and we have seen the potential for that with the impact of the WannaCry on UK hospitals."

However, computer scientist at the University of Surrey Professor Alan Woodward says such attacks carry risks for Russia too.

"These types of uncontrollable hacks are much more like biological warfare in that it's very difficult to target specific critical infrastructure in specific places. WannaCry and NotPetya saw victims in Russia too."

Colonial Pipeline - cyber-criminal attacks intensify


In May 2021 a state of emergency in a number of US states after hackers caused a vital oil pipeline to shut down.

Fears over fuel shortages spurred some US consumers to panic-buy petrol


Colonial Pipeline carries 45% of the East Coast's supply of diesel, petrol and jet fuel and the supply led to panic at the gas pumps.

This attack wasn't carried out by Russian government hackers, but by the DarkSide ransomware group, which is thought to be based in Russia.

The pipeline company admitted to paying criminals $4.4m (£3.1m) in hard-to-trace Bitcoin, in order to get computer systems back up and running.

JBS, founded in Brazil in 1953, is the world's largest meat supplier


A few weeks later meat supplies were impacted when another ransomware crew called REvil attacked JBS, the world's largest beef processor.

One of the big fears experts have about Russian cyber-capabilities is that the Kremlin may instruct cyber-crime groups to co-ordinate attacks on US targets, to maximise disruption.

"The benefit of instructing cyber-criminals to carry out ransomware attacks is the general chaos they can cause. In large enough numbers they can cause serious economic damage," Prof Woodward says.

"It also comes with the added bonus of plausible deniability as these groups are a step removed from an attack by the Russian state."

How could the US respond?


In the highly unlikely case that a Nato country is on the receiving end of a cyber-attack that causes loss of life or huge irreparable damage, then this could trigger Article 5, the alliance's collective defence clause.

But experts say this would drag Nato into a war it does not want to be a part of, so any response is more likely to be from the US and close allies.

President Biden has already said that "we are prepared to respond" if Russia launches a large attack on the US.

However, the unprecedented cyber-chaos seen in Ukraine in recent weeks from vigilante hackers on either side of the war shows how easily things can escalate. So any action is likely to be extremely carefully considered.


Watch: What is ransomware and how does it work?


AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
×