The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) recently stated that the country is the target of an ongoing “wave of hybrid warfare,” aimed at creating anxiety and confusion among citizens, stemming from undermining trust in the state’s ability to defend them.
See also: "Massive" hacking attack hits government sites in Ukraine
“ Ukraine is facing attempts to spread panic, disseminate false information, and distort the real state of affairs. All this combined is nothing more than another huge wave of hybrid warfare ,” the SSU reported
The SSU added that it had to deal with many such attempts, linked to hostile intelligence services and bots, targeting both social networks and mass media.
For example, last week, the Ukrainian government security service discovered and stopped two botnets, which were linked to Russian special services and controlled 18,000 social media accounts.
The two botnets were used to distribute fake news that would spread panic and send bomb threats designed to disrupt businesses across the country.
See also: Gamaredon hacking group: Russians attack Ukraine
On February 1, the Ukrainian Computer Emergency Response Team also warned of attacks against Ukrainian authorities, coordinated by the Gamaredon, previously linked to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), by the Ukrainian Security Service (SSU) and intelligence services (SBU).
A day later, the SSU said it blocked more than 120 cyberattacks targeting the information systems of Ukrainian state institutions during January 2022.
Microsoft also said on February 4 that Gamaredon is the threat group behind a wave of phishing attacks targeting Ukrainian entities and organizations related to Ukrainian affairs since at least October 2021.
Redmond security and threat researchers added that Gamaredon's ongoing cyberespionage campaign is being coordinated out of Crimea, confirming SSU's assessment that these state-backed hackers are Crimean FSB officers known to have sided with the 2014 Russian occupation.
See also: Microsoft: Devastating malware, disguised as ransomware, targets Ukraine
However, as Microsoft pointed out, Gamaredon is not linked to the January cyberattacks that targeted Ukrainian government agencies and corporate entities with destructive data-wiping malware disguised as ransomware.
