Hacktivists Plot Attacks on Russia With Ukraine Government's Urging
Hackers are coming to Ukraine’s aid in an effort to target Russian government websites and officials with disruptive counterattacks, according to six people involved in the activity.
On Ukrainian internet forums on Friday, groups of Ukrainians who worked in the country’s technology sector shared information on how to launch distributed denial of service attacks, known as DDoS, and deploy malicious software targeted at Russian military officers and government officials. Some hackers from outside Ukraine have signed up to help too.
In interviews with Bloomberg News, several Ukrainians with computer expertise said they had joined a group of “cyber volunteers” who plan to use cyberattacks to fight back against the Russian military’s invasion of the country.
The makeshift hacker organization was responding to a call from Ukraine’s government, which on Thursday asked for their help protecting the country from Russian troops, according to several of the organizers. Reuters previously reported the government’s request for cybersecurity assistance.
Yegor Aushev, co-founder of Kyiv-based cybersecurity company Cyber Unit Technologies, is helping to organize the effort. He said in an interview with Bloomberg on Friday that so far about 500 people had come forward to participate with the cyber volunteers.
Aushev said people worldwide had volunteered to help the Ukrainian hacking operation, including a handful from Russia who were against their government’s actions in Ukraine. “If presidents of other countries can’t fight with Ukraine, people of other countries are ready to do it,” Aushev said. Bloomberg couldn’t independently verify that Russians were participating in the volunteer hacking effort.
A representative for Ukraine’s Ministry
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