Who is behind the cyber attack on Russian security?

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Friday, July 16, that it was the victim of a foreign-initiated DTOS-type computer attack against its website. Distributed Service Denial (DTOS) attack is when hackers submerge a network with an extraordinary amount of requests to disable it. “The source of the attack on the Ministry of Defense (…) website is located outside the Russian Federation,” the ministry quoted Doss as saying. Unable to access this site for at least an hour before reactivating.

From whom can this attack come? A possible scenario is a US cyber attack. The United States has seen three major cyber attacks in recent months. First, the discovery of spyware – probably of Russian descent – was made by Texan publisher Solarwinds, a supplier to large groups and US federal organizations. Later, a major cyber attack on Microsoft Exchange Messaging caused Chinese hackers to compromise the data of tens of thousands of customers. The third attack targeted a strategic pipeline along the east coast of the United States, which was eliminated in a ransomware attack against its owner, the Colonial Pipeline Company. It took several days for the company to restart the pipeline, which supplies 45% of the region’s fuel.

Attack on Kasaya

The fourth cyber-attack targeted the US company Casey, which specializes in outsourcing IT services in early July, which affected several hundred companies through Ricochet. The Russian-speaking hacker group, known as Revil, claimed responsibility for the intrusion, which has not been recovered since July 14, and has claimed 70 million bitcoins. A group of hackers known as ATP 29 or Kosi Pier and affiliated with Russian intelligence are suspected of being behind the politically important infiltration attempt.

Several voices from cyber experts and congressmen have called for a massive reaction to Washington in recent weeks. Jen Zhaki, the White House press chief, did not rule out “hackbacks” (cyber-counter-attacks) against Russian interests in early July. “If the Russian government does not take action against Russian-based criminal actors, we will take action on our behalf,” Zhen Zaki said.

In February, Anne Newberger, a senior White House security adviser to the White House, said her team was considering retaliating in the wake of the Solar Winds attack. “This is not the only case of malicious cyber activity of Russian descent, nor of us or our allies or associates,” he added. According to Frank Gilfo, now a former homeland security adviser to the administration of George W. Bush, director of the McCarthy Institute at Auburn University, any response must be carefully crafted without co-damage as military action against specific targets. . It could mean economic, diplomatic or military action, “he said in March.

(With Challenges.fr, Reuters and AFP)