The European Union accuses Russia of coordinating the cyberattack that hit satellite Internet modems in Ukraine on February 24, hardly one hour before Russia invaded Ukraine.
Russian threat actors responsible for the distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack targeted the KA-SAT consumer-oriented satellite broadband service operated by satellite communications provider Viasat.
According to Viasat, the attack impacted thousands of Ukrainian customers and tens of thousands of other broadband customers across Europe.
The satellite internet outage also disconnected modems that were used to control around 5,800 wind turbines in Germany.
One week after the attack, Viasat confirmed that the satellite modems impacted were wiped using AcidRain data destroying malware.
Josep Borrell Fontelles, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission stated that European Union and its Member States, together with its international partners, blame the malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which targeted the satellite KA-SAT network, operated by Viasat.
UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office also issued a statement formally accusing Russia of being behind the February 24 cyberattack against Viasat modems in Ukraine.
The new announcement comes as cyber security leaders from the 5 Eyes, EU and international allies meet at the NCSC’s Cyber UK conference in Newport to discuss the cyber threats facing the world.
Russia is believed to be behind several cyber-incidents impacting the Ukrainian government and services before and since the invasion.
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