Russian hackers claim responsibility for massive cyberattack on German airports and companies

Image of a would-be cybercriminal.

Image of a would-be cybercriminal. Credit: Fam Veld/Shutterstock.com

A massive cyberattack that hit the websites of German airports and companies was carried out by Russian hackers in retaliation for sending Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

Russian hackers claimed responsibility for the massive cyberattack that hit german airports and companies today, Thursday, January 26. This was confirmed by Germany’s Federal Cybersecurity Agency (BSI).

In a statement, a spokesperson said that the BSI had been informed of: “DDoS attacks (by denial of service) currently in progress against targets in Germany. Their targets reportedly included businesses “in the financial sector”, and federal government sites. No major consequences have been reported so far.

According to the BSI, the attacks were carried out by the Russian hacker website ‘Killnet’. The attacks were conducted as a direct retaliation to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s decision to supply Ukraine with Leopard tanks said the Dusseldorf-based Handelsblatt media group.

The BSI spokesperson pointed out that even though ‘Killnet’ claimed to be responsible, identifying the exact source was: “particularly difficult for hacker collectives”.

The hackers “make specific calls to action, and then lots of people participate” but “it’s hard to prove that authorship can be attributed to them,” he added. They confirmed to AFP that: “some sites are currently unavailable”,

“There is currently no indication of direct repercussions on the services concerned and, according to the assessment of the BSI, no repercussions should be expected if the usual protective measures are taken”, added the spokesperson for the BSI.

According to the regional interior ministry, the Baden-Wurttemberg regional police website was also targeted. A full police investigation into the attack has been initiated, as reported by euronews.com.

A denial of Service (DDoS) attack involves a hacker targetting a computer system by flooding it with a large number of messages or connection requests which overloads the system and subsequently crashes it.

___________________________________________________________

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Do remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories and remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Written by

Chris King

Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com

Comments