Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) prevented a massive break-in into the IT systems of critical infrastructure, cell service providers, media on the first night of the Russian invasion, the SSU press center reports citing the spokesperson, Artem Dekhtiarenko.
“Since the beginning of the full-scale aggression from the Russian Federation, more than 120 powerful cyberattacks on the resources of the state authorities and the military administration of Ukraine have been promptly detected and neutralized. Most of them fell on the night of the invasion; then, the enemy wanted to destroy all of Ukraine’s cyber defense. However, the efficient work of the SSU and other cyberdefense agencies prevented the aggressor from using cyberspace from gaining military advantages,” the spokesperson said.
According to Dekhtiarenko, SSU employees neutralized all the attempts of the occupiers to paralyze strategically important Ukrainian web resources or to use them for spreading propaganda.
Now the platforms have been set up for the round-the-clock exchange of information between all institutions that may be the target of hostile entrenchments. Also the SSU opened several investigations to determine and bring to justice all the organizers and members of the subversive activities and aggression against Ukraine.
According to the preliminary information, Russian special forces, including representatives of the Federal Security Service and military intelligence, organized the enemy cyber forces.
“The execution was carried out by Russian specialized hacker groups: APT28, АРТ29, Sandworm, BerserkBear, Gamaredon, Vermin, etc. Currently, the SSU continues working in an intensified round-the-clock mode. And our investigators are determining the whole chain of the criminals to bring them to justice,” Dekhtiarenko said.
Earlier, The Times reported that China’s government hackers conducted several cyberattacks on Ukrainian military and energy objects a day before the full-scale Russian invasion on February 24. The information allegedly came from the anonymous SSU official and contained references to the agency’s internal documents. However, later the Security Service of Ukraine announced that they did not provide the media with any information on China’s cyberattack and had nothing to do with the claims made by The Times.
And on March 28 State Special Communications Service of Ukraine neutralized a massive cyberattack on Ukrtelekom.