In the early morning hours of Feb. 24, Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California, watched Russia’s invasion of Ukraine unfold in real time, with troop movements overlaid on high-resolution satellite imagery. Internal information: Anyone with an internet connection can access it, if they knew where to look. He observed on Google Maps a traffic jam slowly heading towards and beyond the Russian-Ukrainian border.
As I watched the invasion begin on the rest of the world, another less visual aspect of the burgeoning war began to spread across an ill-defined online battlefield. Digital espionage, social media and online surveillance are indispensable tools in the toolbox of a fashionable military, and both sides of the confrontation have used those tools. Combined with civilian access to data the likes of which the world has never before realized, this promises to be a war like no other.
The first to be affected by the online war were Internet sites. Two weeks ago, before the big invasion began, Russian cyberwarfare agents introduced distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against the Ukrainian government and currency sites. Subsequent attacks temporarily disabled the Internet sites of Ukraine’s security facilities, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the government. A DDoS attack is a relatively undeniable way to temporarily take a server offline. A network of Internet-connected devices, whether owned by the attacker or inflamed with malware, floods a target with requests, as if millions of users urgently need to “refresh” the same online page at the same time, multiple times. The purpose is to overwhelm the server so that it can no longer remain active and stops responding to valid requests, such as a user seeking to access an online page. Russia has denied involvement in the attacks, but American and British intelligence facilities have evidence that they say implicates Moscow.
DDoS attacks appear to be the tool of choice for both sides, as several Russian sites, including those of the Kremlin and the Russian military, were taken offline through a series of similar counterattacks last week. It is not clear without delay whether those attacks came directly from the Ukrainian government or from a third party sympathetic to its cause. To recruit those who can contribute to those efforts, the government has called on cybersecurity experts to help protect their country’s virtual territory and launch offensive counterattacks against Russia. The first of those calls, oddly enough, was posted on a forum via Yegor Aushev, co-owner of a Kyiv-based cybersecurity company, who allegedly posted a message on behalf of the Defense Ministry. Later, the government introduced what Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov called in a tweet the country’s “IT army. “This group, organized through a Telegram channel, has gained lists of Russian Internet sites that its members can target.
The independent cybersecurity collective known as Anonymous also has to support Ukraine in opposition to Russia. They have already taken credit for several attacks, including replacing the propaganda of a Russian news channel, shutting down Russian government and media websites, and leaking a Russian database. Ministry of Economic Development.
Ukrainian government agencies and banks have also been attacked by malware, that is, a virus designed to erase data from hard drives. The malicious code was made known to security companies Symantec and ESET a day before the invasion began, and Microsoft found out several hours later. After 3 more hours, Microsoft’s Defender software was consistent in locating and blocking the package. Although there is no concrete knowledge linking the program to Russia, it is widely believed to be the source. The attack appears to occur without the monetary motivation of similar malware, such as ransomware. When a computer is infected with ransomware, the user receives a message like “Send us money or all your data will be deleted. ” This virus skips the middle step and simply erases knowledge, implying that it was created only to disable inflamed agencies and sow confusion. To achieve this goal, it appears that ransomware lures have also been deployed, either to distract the data-wiping virus or to cover its tracks so it can remain undetected for longer.
Compared to what is happening in Ukraine, this is all harmless: does it not matter if an online page is down while other people die? In times of crisis, whether war or natural disaster, one of the most complicated and therefore vital responsibilities for a government is to provide its citizens with life-saving data. Weakening a government’s ability to disseminate such data can, at best, create confusion and disseminate dissenting data, and at worst lead to In 2015, Ukraine’s power grid was completely compromised. remotely through Russia’s General Intelligence Directorate (GRU) in an attempt to sow unrest and fear, leaving an estimated 230,000 more people without electricity.
While the cyber war raging behind the scenes has been largely invisible, the rest of the war is anything but. Gone are the days when those living across the world from an active conflict get their daily dose of news from the front lines each evening at 7 PM — social media means we’re constantly connected to a stream of information in near-realtime, although separating fact from fiction can prove difficult.
Take, for example, the “Ghost of Kiev”, a mythical Ukrainian pilot who is said to have already shot down six Russian fighters. While there’s no proof that such a pilot exists (or doesn’t exist, for that matter), a popular video of the pilot shooting down another plane turned out to be fake: it’s footage from the video game Dynamic Combat Simulator that was taken out of context and sensationalized on Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit.
In addition, there have been many cases of planned disdata in Moscow. The Russian government has been incredibly selective in determining what data its citizens can consume and how they can access it. Russian media outlets have been told to only report data from official government sources, and the government has limited access to Facebook. Russian news channels have gone to great lengths to present the war (which is itself a banned word) as a minor military operation; Not all Russian media have capitulated to the government’s demands. Tech giants have also come under pressure to crack down on data and propaganda, Deputy Prime Minister Fedorov added. He has used streaming services, including Netflix and YouTube, to block Russian propaganda, and other services, such as PayPal and Google, to disable access in Russia. Last week, YouTube disabled monetization for Russian channels.
Fedorov also contacted Elon Musk on Twitter and asked for Starlink internet terminals. Musk responded by activating Starlink’s satellite internet service in Ukraine and sending a truck full of terminals, which arrived a few days ago. It’s unclear how Fedorov plans to deploy the terminals, but they will most likely be used to connect hard-to-reach spaces or repair attachment in spaces with compromised infrastructure.
Unsurprisingly, even the most well-intentioned use of social media can prove problematic in times of war. Twitter users have warned all those who oppose appearing to post photographs of Ukraine’s defenses online to avoid offering Russian intelligence data on troops. movements or other actions of the army.
Simply using a smartphone can cause problems: Location allows phones to be tracked, and not just through a cybersecurity expert who snuck into Apple’s Find My iPhone service.
A clever example here is the traffic jam that Dr. Lewis observed on the 24th. This was likely caused by civilians trapped at roadblocks as the army advanced. Similarly, giant gatherings, such as demonstrations or gatherings in public places, can also be recorded and displayed. on Google Maps (via the “live activity information” feature) and other services. To address this issue and protect its users, Google has temporarily disabled awareness of live traffic in Ukraine. Still, it would be wise for users to consider the types of knowledge recorded through their devices and where that knowledge is sent.
Although this invasion has only been going on for a few days, it already seems to have set a new precedent in the way hybrid wars are fought, a very worrying prospect. For many of us, watching events unfold on our phones as we cross the world safely from the front lines, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that this is a very genuine confrontation in which innocent lives are lost every day.
All of us here at La-Tecnologia hope for a quick, peaceful, and just solution to the war. Screenwriter Burt Prelutsky said it while writing the script for an episode of MASH: “War is not hell. War is war and hell is hell. And of the two, the war is much worse. . . There are no innocent spectators in hell.
It’s like a Python logo.
I hope you have maintained so much cynicism about Russia, otherwise you risk hunting like a state-sponsored robot!
Also, unlike other sites, the team here does a clever moderation task so that flame wars don’t start.
Okay, I don’t even need to believe what comments on a similar topic would be like on Twitter or 4chan lol.
I know which platform Mr. Musk is most popular on right now. . .
For my part, if you say something with such cynicism, at least back it up with some facts: I am not a big fan of Mr. Musk, he is something of a snake oil salesman, even if his projects seem to be successful. finish…
However, all the facts I can locate seem to imply that there is very little chance, if any, of the money going to Elon or its corporations for any of this, when it would possibly charge them quite a bit, and the advertising is rather high. threat game (at least based on Putin’s recent decision making) that they didn’t really have to play anyway: in area launches and satellite web type things, they are one of the only imaginable options, and the reasons for opting for them instead of other probabilities will almost all be operational desires, so it does not matter if they announced that they are already the most productive company for the task and would still have approved the contractArray or that they are not, hence the rival that will download this position / client…
“If you say it cynically, at least back it up with some facts”
Elon is a mathematical genius. Do not hesitate.
There would be ponies.
In Soviet Russia, the bot you!
Who else saw the thumbnail first and got the idea, oh Python?
I came here to say that.
Me too!
It was one of the few crops that least resembled the Python logo, although it still looked a bit like a phone and flag.
Me
Well written and article, thank you!
“coconuts”. . . My God, it’s no wonder we’re where we are now, with a lot of other people with a World War II mentality. Russia has been capitalist for a long time.
It should be noted that Russia has not invested much money in cyberattacks. This is largely due to the fact that kinetic attacks can be just as effective with less effort.
However, it is worth noting that the disinformation machinery has shifted towards the war in Ukraine [1]…. draining the networks of the conspiratorial clickbait of the emotional covid
[1] https://www. theguardian. com/media/2022/mar/04/bot-holiday-covid-misinformation-ukraine-social-media
I made some myself online.
Here is my Google Earth project.
https://earth. google. com/earth/d/1ZAiMRTmU1hk12j4XEbIxpesb2u-0WxRC?usp=sharing
Let me know if you want to collaborate!
Hackaday readers will be interested in the electrical appliances and power source pylons/cables from this bunker in Russia.
FYI, the elements you’ve marked as casemates are likely concrete culverts.
The very concept of an anonymous user doing something officially is contradictory or paradoxical.
Perhaps paraoxymoroxic?
Let’s think that there has been a cyber attack and a cyber war here. The unique feature is the planned death of people. Some examples.
Take out a power grid in a frozen country so other people freeze to death.
Eliminate smooth traffic systems to cause chaos, car accidents and deaths.
Take, for example, hospital IT systems, combined with increased workloads, so doctors are overwhelmed and cause more deaths.
Take control of water treatment plants so that other people do not have access to water and do not suffer from waterborne diseases.
Take control of critical knowledge so that workers cause death without delay knowing what they have done. Examples. Replace medical-grade gases, such as oxygen, with other gases. Putting the wrong fuel in airport reserves so that aircraft engines overheat and fail flight.
Replacing other food products with superior allergens to cause death from allergic reactions such as anaphylactic reactions.
It causes plant apparatus to release poisonous compounds into the air, water, or food chain.
Here are some of the things that can be done on a larger scale. There are many things that can be done on a smaller scale and that, if coordinated, would have a great impact.
We have recently witnessed the errors of our “Just in Time” source chain. This is the only thing that now has weaknesses due to over-optimization. We go through the same thing at work now. Nowadays, people have a very limited skill set and cannot temporarily move into other fields of tasks. We also employ “sufficient” people to accomplish the task. A significant disruption to employment would cause this formula to collapse. We’re already making a song about symptoms here in Australia.
Australia completely ignores the problem of homelessness. Everyone has a different conception of the causes of homelessness, and they regularly blame the unhoused people. The fact is that the cause of homelessness is homelessness. Here in this country, the structure of housing has come to a halt due to the pandemic. At first the margin was too narrow because we might just blame the homeless. Ironically, many places are no longer able to hire staff to help their businesses because there is nowhere to live for staff. Some cities are wasting their one doctor.
Over-optimization has created a scenario where we have the flexibility to adapt to unforeseen adjustments and this only applies to chains of origin, housing and employment. All of our modern design has this intrinsic weakness that begs to be exploited in an era of greater geopolitical instability.
Most things we take for granted can be in danger without ice. We are prepared for this because these are things that we “take for granted”.
Collapse of civilization due to over-optimization due to profit with minimal paints due to conformity due to over-reliance on technology/machines. This word and caution is also one of the main, if unnoticed, concepts of Dune.
“It is not clear whether these attacks came directly from the Ukrainian government or from a third party”
I’m the Ukrainian government and it has more important things to do than the DDoS Putin homepage.
Ideal position for 2 questions.
Who the network
“The Russian government has been incredibly selective in determining what data its citizens can consume”
And the EU is just as bad as Russia, teaching (without legal basis!) its member states to block their citizens from sites like Russia Today.
https://europeanjournalists. org/blog/2022/03/01/fighting-disinformation-with-censorship-is-a-mistake/
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