Russia shocked the world this week, moving forward with a country-wide invasion of Ukraine. Russian and Ukrainian forces continue to fight over crucial areas of the country. The Russian Federation currently occupies Chernobyl, and is closing in on Kyiv – Ukraine’s capital. Initial response to the attack is financial sanctions, but that isn’t the only counterpunch in the early days of the incursion.
While fighting on the ground continues, a parallel war is taking place. The Russian government is not shy about employing cyberwarfare tactics, and the Ukrainian government is growing anxious about the possible impact on critical infrastructure by Russian hackers. Ukrainian leadership called on the global hacking community for support. And, now infamous global hacking group Anonymous is joining the fight.
According to a new report from ABC news, hackers with Anonymous temporarily disabled a number of Russian government websites with DDoS attacks, including official pages for the country’s defense ministry, as well as the state-run media outlet Russia Today. However, some experts suggest these attacks are not as significant as they may seem.
Robert Potter, an internet security expert following the situation, told ABC news, "DDoS is rarely more than inconvenient. If you're knocking Amazon off with a DDoS they lose millions a minute, but for the news website of the Russian propaganda agency, it's not such a big deal."
Although these specific attacks may not seem impactful, it is likely more hackers across the globe will rise up to fight against Russia in the coming days and weeks. Collectively, the hacking community possesses the potential to devastate Russian networks and infrastructure, but risk adding fuel to a fire that’s already out of control.
The Russian government carefully coordinated this invasion, and anticipated hacking attempts to thwart plans. But, foreseeing this problem isn’t the same as managing the problem. If the Ukrainian government gets ample support from the global hacking community, it gains a puncher’s chance in pushing back the threat. Cyber attacks of this scale demand high levels of planning and organization. There is no time to waste, immediate response is critical.