Ukrainian Intelligence Behind Hacks on Russian Companies, Institutions

Kyiv Post's sources in Ukraine's Military Intelligence stated that HUR was responsible for a series of cyberattacks against multiple Russian state institutions and private companies, leading to widespread service disruptions in Russia.

As of 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, June 5, electronic services to numerous Russian government services, including its state services website and numerous ministries, reportedly became inaccessible. Locals also complained that weddings were being canceled, as reported by Ukrainska Pravda, citing sources from HUR.

Customers of Russia’s Alfa Bank and Sberbank also reported issues accessing banking services, according to Down Detector, a site that reports service outages. However, the banks’ websites remain accessible.

Operations of United Aircraft Company (UAC), Russia’s plane manufacturer that produces its Su-57 stealth fighters, are also reportedly affected. UAC’s website remains inaccessible at the time of publication.

Moscow’s communication agency Roskomnadzor said “an accident of the main communication network” was to blame, but a source from HUR has confirmed to Kyiv Post that it was behind the latest cyberattacks by utilizing distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, a tactic that overwhelms the servers with false requests.

A Russian news outlet also reported on Monday, June 3, that its Federal Customs Service encountered a DDoS attack, though it said services had been restored as of Monday afternoon.

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Ukrainska Pravda also reported that “the website and services of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation are blocked,” though the website has likely been restored at the time of this publication.

However, the exact extent of HUR’s cyber operations, including when it started, is not immediately clear.

In early May, HUR launched a large-scale cyberattack on internet providers and mobile operators in Russia’s Tatarstan, where a number of Russian defense manufacturers are located.