War in Ukraine: American hackers strike Russia

Whereas US supplies arms to Ukraineand that Russia believes that this could lead to a third world war, the US Cyber ​​Command (USCyberCom) admitted on the antenna of sky news have ” carried out a series of operations” in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is through the voice of General Paul Nakasone that the American army therefore confirmed using military “hackers” against Russian interests and actions.

Speaking from Tallinn, Estonia, the general assures us that these activities are ” legal and that they are conducted with full civilian oversight of the military and through policy decided at the Department of Defense. ” My job is to provide a series of options to the Secretary of Defense and the President, and so that’s what I do”he continued, without detailing these options.

Neutralize fake news and trolls

However, he explained that these were not necessarily aggressive operations, such as attacking a satellite or paralyzing a network. Cyberattacks are also about neutralization fake news and russian troll farmsbut also their implementation light. ” We had the opportunity to start talking about what the Russians were trying to do especially in our midterm elections. We saw it again in 2020, when we were talking about what the Russians and Iranians were going to do, but it was on a smaller scale. The ability for us to share this information, to be able to ensure that it is accurate, timely and actionable on a larger scale has been very, very powerful in this crisis. »

In passing, he paid tribute to the Ukrainian services which have been suffering for several months repeated attacks, whether it is the decommissioning of a satellite or attacks against government sites. ” That’s the kind of element that I think audiences sometimes miss. It’s not like they haven’t been very busy, they’ve been incredibly busy. And I think their resilience is perhaps the story that fascinates us the most. »

In Ukraine… just before the invasion

Created in 2010, the USCyberCom department defends American cyberspace but also that of its allies, and for this, the United States has deployed men in sixteen countries to improve intelligence as well as the tracking of enemy hackers and their sophisticated tools. The information found is then shared with the host country.

Well before the Russian invasion, the United States was in Ukraine to provide its expertise in matter of cybersecurity. ” We went in December 2021 at the invitation of the government of Kyiv to come and hunt with them. We stayed there for a period of almost 90 days”, said the general. A spokesperson confirmed that this team withdrew in February, along with other Ministry of Defense personnel. So it was a few days before the invasion…

War in Ukraine: the United States prepares for Russian cyberattacks

As in 2016, when Russia disrupted the presidential election to favor Donald Trump, the United States anticipates large-scale Russian cyberattacks. The FBI has thus detected suspicious activities linked to Russian IP addresses. In the event of a proven cyberattack, it would be considered a “war attack”.

Posted on 03/23/2022 by Fabrice Auclert

During a press briefing, the White House warned US companies that Russia was preparing to launch cyberattacks against sensitive US infrastructure. A statement based in particular on FBI findings. On March 18, the American secret services discovered that computer hackers associated with IP addresses Russians had scanned the networks of five American energy companies.

Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger speaks of ” preparatory activity » to cyberattacks which she says could include scanning websites and scanning for software vulnerabilities. According to Jen Easterly, director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, this is not espionage, but activity ” disruptive or destructive”. In total, about twenty American companies in sectors, such as defense and financial services, are in the sights of hackers.

The private sector on high alert

” The scale of Russia’s cyber capability is quite substantial and it is coming”, President Joe Biden summed up Monday to the leaders of these companies. These potential attacks would be a response to US sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, the White House has said. ” We have previously warned of the potential for Russia to carry out cyberattacks against the United States, particularly in response to the unprecedented economic costs that the United States, its Allies and partners have imposed in response to the new invasion of Ukraine by Russia”, confirms Anne Neuberger.

” Today, we reiterate those warnings, and we do so based on evolving threat intelligence that the Russian government is exploring options for potential cyberattacks on sensitive infrastructure in the United States. » According to her, federal agencies convened more than 100 companies to share new information on cybersecurity threats, as well as resources and tools to help companies strengthen their security.

A cyberattack would be considered an act of war

On the Russian side, we formally deny any preparation for a computer attack. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has thus told reporters : “ The Russian Federation, unlike many Western countries, including the United States, does not engage in banditry at the state level”. Russia had already denied being behind hacks of Ukrainian government sites in February, as well as Ukrainian banks.

Let us remember that Western leaders have repeatedly warned that a cyberattack of Moscow against a NATO member state could trigger the Western treaty’s collective defense clause known as Article 5. This article states that, if a NATO country falls victim to an armed attack, each member of the Alliance will consider this act of violence as an armed attack directed against all members and will take the measures it deems necessary to come to the aid of the country attacked.