US Accuses Russia of Launching DDoS Attacks to Destabilize Ukraine
The US is blaming Russia’s military intelligence for launching several DDoS attacks this week, which took down Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense website and online services belonging to two major Ukrainian banks.
“We believe the Russian government is responsible for wide scale cyberattacks on Ukrainian banks,” Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger said in a Friday White House briefing.
According to Neuberger, the US has uncovered technical evidence that links the DDoS attacks to Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate, also known as the GRU. A DDoS attack works by essentially bombarding a website with a massive flood of online traffic, forcing it offline.
“Known GRU infrastructure was seen transmitting high volumes of communication to Ukraine-based IP addresses and domains,” Neuberger said.
She didn't elaborate on the technical evidence, but noted the US moved fast to connect the attack back to the Russian military in "a need to call out the activity quickly." The US has since shared its intelligence on the attack with the Ukrainian government and European allies.
The DDoS attack occurred as the White House has been warning that the Russian military could invade Ukraine within days. For weeks now, the country has also faced a barrage of online attacks that have temporarily defaced government websites, likely in an attempt to terrorize the Ukrainian public.
Neuberger said the most recent DDoS attacks had limited impact, citing how Ukraine's Ministry of Defense and affected banks were quick to restore their websites. But the US expects Russia to launch more cyber attacks in Ukraine to destabilize the country.
“This recent spate of cyberattacks in Ukraine are consistent with what a Russian effort could look like
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