Russia-Ukraine, is escalating into the hacker war. And Europe blocks Russian online media

The banning of Russia Today and Sputnik marks new digital fronts in the conflict. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Fedorov asks the EU for help in supplying ICT resources. The ranks of the army of anti-Putin computer experts are expanding. Ddos attacks on infrastructure. Microsoft puts its technology to support the humanitarian crisis 04 Mar 2022 L. O.

Cyber fronts are widening in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Europe bans the broadcasts of "Russia Today" and Sputnik (and their subsidiaries in the member states) with the aim of blocking disinformation on war developments. It emerged from a conversation between the European digital ministers, which was attended by Minister Vittorio Colao for Italy. Youtube, Meta, Twitter are also involved in order to guarantee the blocking of propaganda and disinformation channels, while at the same time preserving the ability of Russian citizens to communicate via the Internet and to be able to access "free information".

The ban on Europe EU Regulation 328/2022 introduces a series of goods subject to control and whose export to Russia is in fact prohibited; many of these assets relate to the IT sectors: electronic materials, telecommunications and information security. The French Presidency of the EU will consider together with the Member States any further measures.

From the conversation between the European ministers it emerges that Ukraine "has requested assistance for the supply of ICT resources, and in particular of terminals for connection to the Starlink satellite system, so as to be able to guarantee Internet connection to all Ukrainian citizens. Also in this case, European coordination will be ensured to evaluate Ukrainian requests ”. Cyberwar in escalation: 260 thousand anti-Putin hackers The cyberwar front is also expanding. After targeting institutional sites and digital infrastructures in Kiev with a succession of new malware, cybercriminals are now also targeting the refugee organization with a phishing campaign. While the ranks of the army of volunteer hackers in support of Ukraine widen, summoned by the Minister of Digital Fedorov, which now number more than 260 thousand. In the cyberwarfare, different sides are emerging: Anonymous activists take action against Russia, the Conti cybercriminal gang flanks the Kremlin (even if there are signs of civil disobedience within it), while the army of volunteer hackers who have enlisted in the IT Army formed after the appeal of the Ukrainian minister Fedorov. Cyber security firm Sekoia estimates there are nearly 260,000 people; they have a Twitter page and a Telegram channel. The actions reported so far are Dos attacks (Denyal or Service) to knock out an infrastructure. But the "cyber army" could also have more ambitious goals such as railway networks or the Russian satellite navigation system. Microsoft is also providing technological support to non-governmental organizations committed to managing the humanitarian crisis triggered by the conflict. The security center of the tech giant has identified a new malware called FoxBlade. In addition to causing interruptions to Ukrainian digital infrastructure services in the wake of the invasion, an alert was launched on attempts to steal personal health, insurance and transport data. Malware goes to war Many malware that have been proliferating since the outbreak of the conflict. There is Isaac Wiper - discovered by the security company Eset, which erases all the data of a machine and renders it useless - but also Cyclops Blink, HermeticWiper, HermeticWizard, HermeticRansom on which Csirt Italia (the response team in case of cyber incidents). "These are evolutions of existing viruses, in this sector nothing is born overnight, there is evidence that the first embryos of these malware date back to a year and a half ago, the intelligence of the nations are already on alert", he explained to Ansa Diego Marson, head of the Yarix security team. "I believe that the next potential '9/11' will be a cyber attack, but it would have a much more serious impact because it would become a global attack, not targeting a single nation but the entire system," said Stefan Umit Uygur. CEO of 4Securitas in a meeting in the Senate. According to experts, a phishing campaign was spread through a compromised email from a member of the Ukrainian military, distributing malware known as SunSeed. The goal is to infect the terminals of people involved in logistics, supplies, administration of funds for the humanitarian crisis and management of Ukrainian refugees, and to gather information on the strategies of the various NATO countries.