Ukraine Delivers One of Largest Cyberattacks in History, Source Says

On the evening of Tuesday, July 30, hackers from Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) completed one of the largest Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDOS) attacks in history, derailing Russia’s internet infrastructure, hitting critical resources and gaining access to a vast array of confidential data, sources in Ukrainian intelligence told the Kyiv Post on Wednesday morning.

According to a Ukrainian intelligence source, the attack lasted continuously for a week. It affected the online services of all major Russian banks, including the Central Bank, telecommunications service providers, national payment systems, social networks and messengers, government resources, and dozens of other services.

All the attacked resources were in some way involved in supporting or financing the Russian Federation’s armed aggression against Ukraine.

“We can now exhale and confirm the completion of the operation. Thank you to everyone who participated, helped, and supported. Of course, this is just a prelude to even more interesting events,” the source said. “We advise the Russians to start digging a grave for their digital infrastructure.”

“It’s time for the enemy to recall the idea of an isolated, inherently Russian ‘CheburNet’ with moats, digital guards, and firewalls around the perimeter. See you in the next act of this captivating story.”

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Millions of users in virtually every region of Russia felt the effects of the cyber operation, many of them unable to use internet services, the source said.

The affected financial entities included VTB Bank, Alfa Bank, SberBank, Raiffeisen Bank, RSHB Bank, Ak Bars Bank, Rosbank, Gazprombank, Tinkoff Bank, iBank, Dom.RF Bank, and the Bank of Russia. On the last day of the attack, the resources of the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Federal Tax Service were also affected.

As of 7 p.m. on July 30, Russians had not yet managed to restore the proper functioning of leading banking and payment systems, mobile operators, social networks, and internet providers. Disruptions in the operation of the websites of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Federal Tax Service are still observed, the source said.