Last week hacking group Anonymous announced attacks on a number of Russian government websites, Now, Ukraine is building an “IT Army” of its own.
Ukraine’s vice prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, turned to twitter over the weekend, asking volunteers to help with offensive and defensive cyber support against the Russian hackers:
We are creating an IT army. We need digital talents. All operational tasks will be given here: https://t.co/Ie4ESfxoSn. There will be tasks for everyone. We continue to fight on the cyber front. The first task is on the channel for cyber specialists.
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) February 26, 2022
Government officials created a list of 31 prime targets for hackers, including a number of state-owned agencies, banks, energy suppliers, and digital service companies. However, pro-Russian hacking groups clearly communicated support for President Putin’s invasion.
The complexity of this situation is growing by the minute. The Russian government stated nuclear activity is on the table, and this reality is creating anxiety for security experts, who believe agitating the Russian military could make the situation worse. At the same time, inactivity could lead to the death of innocent civilians.
Ukraine increases chances of success with a well-coordinated, carefully planned cadence of IT army attacks, and not taking Russia’s nuclear “threat” lightly.