'Happy Ukrainian Armed Forces Day' — hackers deface website of Russian company delivering military goods, HUR source claims
Ukrainian hackers launched a massive cyberattack on a Russian company responsible for shipping sanctioned goods and military components, wiping out 165 terabytes of critical data, sources within Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR), told the Kyiv Independent on Dec. 6.
The hacker group BO Team, working alongside HUR, targeted the Eltrans+ group of companies, a logistics and transportation firm used by over 5,000 Russian businesses. The cyberattack took down over 700 computers and servers and deleted accounts of more than 1,000 Eltrans+ users," HUR claimed.
Following the attack, the company’s website congratulated Russian users on Ukraine’s Armed Forces Day, a celebration of the military on Dec. 6. The hack also reportedly deleted surveillance footage and cargo declarations.
"Eltrans+ is engaged in the delivery of sanctioned goods, as well as various electronic components from China, which are used by the Russian military-industrial complex," HUR said.
Ukraine and Russia both regularly exchange blows on the cyber battlefield as well as the physical frontline.
In October, a cyberattack carried out by HUR caused over 66 million rubles ($800,000) in damages to Orion Telecom, one of the largest internet providers in Siberia.
In turn, Moscow has targeted not only Ukraine but also its allies, including the U.S. and the EU. In August, Russia was believed to be behind a breach of the United States federal court filing system, days before U.S. President Donald Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
With the cyberwar showing no signs of slowing down, NATO said recently that it is going to take a more assertive response to Russia’s cyber operations and hybrid warfare.
"On cyber, we are kind of reactive. Being more aggressive or being proactive instead of reactive is something that we are thinking about," the alliance’s top military official, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, told the FT.
