Disputes between Ukraine and Russia continue with increasing tension, both militarily and online. Websites of the Ukrainian military and at least two of the country’s largest banks were reportedly taken offline in a cyberattack last day. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine confirmed on social media that they were subjected to a possible DDoS attack. Afterwards, a new message was published and it was reported that “technical studies for restoring orderly functioning” continue. Other military installations also suffered disruptions during the attack.
In an apparently coordinated internet attack, Ukraine’s largest commercial banking business PrivatBank and major financial institution Oschadbank were also damaged during the same hours, shutting down some online transactions and ATMs across the country.
Although a statement on Facebook by the Ukrainian government’s Strategic Communications Center says “PrivatBank has been attacked by a DDoS”, a falsified page indicates something more serious than a DDoS attack.
“During the attack, some services (ATM, TSO) were down for one hour,” the center said, adding: “As of 16.30, these services have been restored.”
DDoS attacks, or denial-of-service attacks, are often used to distract when intrusion attempts are being made or tested, and their targets are often prominent names. Although there is no explanation that the latest attack was carried out by Russia, the estimates are generally concentrated in this direction.
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