Newport: Russia was behind a massive cyberattack against a satellite internet network that took tens of thousands of modems offline at the onset of Russia-Ukraine war, the United States, Britain, Canada, Estonia and the European Union said on Tuesday.
The digital assault against Viasat's VSAT.O KA-SAT network in late February took place just as Russian armour pushed into Ukraine.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the cyberattack was intended "to disrupt Ukrainian command and control during the invasion, and those actions had spillover impacts into other European countries".
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss called the satellite internet hack "deliberate and malicious" and the Council of the EU said it caused "indiscriminate communication outages" in Ukraine and several EU member states.
The Viasat outage remains the most publicly visible cyberattack carried out since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in part because the hack had immediate knock-on consequences for satellite internet users across Europe and because the crippled modems often had to be replaced manually.
"After those modems were knocked offline it wasn't like you unplug them and plug them back in and reboot and they come back," the U.S. National Security Agency's Director of Cybersecurity Rob Joyce told Reuters on the sidelines of a cybersecurity conference on Tuesday.
"They were down and down hard; they had to go back to the factory to be swapped out."
The precise consequences of the hack on the Ukrainian battlefield have not been made public, but government contracts reviewed by Reuters show that KA-SAT has provided internet connectivity to Ukrainian military and police units.
The satellite modem sabotage caused a "huge loss in communications in the very beginning of war", Ukrainian cybersecurity official Victor Zhora said in March.
In a statement, Ukraine's State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection said that Russia "is an aggressor country attacking Ukraine not only on our land, but in cyberspace too".
The Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Russia routinely denies it carries out offensive cyber operations.
Viasat said in a statement that it "recognised" the announcement and would continue to work with government officials to investigate the hack. The company did not provide an update on a Viasat official's comments to Reuters in late March that the hackers were still trying to interfere with the company's operations, albeit to limited effect.
The satellite modem-wrecking cyberattack remains the most visible hack of the war, but many others have taken place since and not all of them have been made public.
"That was the biggest single event," said Joyce. "It certainly had new and novel tradecraft, but there have been multiple attacks."
SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk said his company's Starlink satellite broadband service, which is available in Ukraine, had resisted Russian cyberwar jamming and hacking attempts, though adding in a post on Twitter: "They’re ramping up their efforts".
Reuters
Wed May 11 2022
The Viasat outage remains the most publicly visible cyberattack carried out since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in part because the hack had immediate knock-on consequences for satellite internet users across Europe. - REUTERS
Singapura rampas 1.5 tan produk segar dan makanan proses dari Malaysia
Kira-kira 1.5 tan produk segar dan makanan diproses yang diimport secara haram dari Malaysia dirampas Agensi Makanan Singapura (SFA).
AWANI Ringkas: Jumlah hari tol percuma kekal
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Kemarau: KADA anggar 40,000 tan metrik hasil padi terjejas
Kawasan tersebut sangat kering, mengakibatkan tanah merekah dan tanaman rosak teruk.
[KOLUMNIS] Malaysia perlu bijak tangani isu diplomatik, jangan biarkan dibuli negara besar
Sekiranya Malaysia hendak mengekalkan status sebagai sebuah negara berkecuali di samping menjaga kepentingan ekonomi negara, kepimpinan negara perlu untuk mempertahankan kedaulatan negara.
Ada keperluan pinda Seksyen 21 Akta Polis - KPN
Terdapat keperluan untuk PDRM melakukan pindaan terhadap Seksyen 21 Akta Polis 1967, yang berkaitan dengan tugasan mengiring di jalan raya.
Kegiatan haram di KL: Lebih daripada seorang pegawai kanan polis dipercayai terlibat - Azam Baki
Lebih daripada seorang pegawai kanan Polis Diraja Malaysia dipercayai terlibat dalam aktiviti melindungi kegiatan haram di ibu negara, tegas Ketua Pesuruhjaya SPRM Tan Sri Azam Baki.
Tular titah lama Sultan Nazrin di luar konteks, Pejabat Dewan Negara Perak buat laporan polis
Pejabat Dewan Negara Perak membuat laporan polis berhubung penularan kenyataan berunsur perkauman yang memetik titah diraja Sultan Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shahdalam konteks yang salah.
Bubur pedas, juadah tradisi meriahkan Ramadan di Sarawak
Setiap kali Ramadan, juadah bubur lambuk pasti menjadi 'fenomena' di Semenanjung, sejak sekian lama.
Cristiano Ronaldo akui dia bukan lagi ‘pemain terbaik’ Portugal?
Bernardo Silva telah dinobatkan sebagai pemain terbaik Portugal walaupun Cristiano Ronaldo masih beraksi untuk negaranya.
Cuaca panas: Orang Asli hadkan aktiviti luar rumah, masuk hutan
Bahang cuaca panas menyebabkan masyarakat Orang Asli suku kaum Temiar di Pos Brooke terpaksa mengurangkan aktiviti di luar rumah dan masa bekerja di dalam hutan.
13 maut, puluhan cedera ditembak secara rambang di sekolah
Suspek yang menggunakan dua pucuk pistol itu juga dilaporkan membunuh diri selepas melepaskan tembakan secara rambang.
Krisis Ukraine-Rusia: Apa punca sebenar?
Prof Mizan berpendapat, ketegangan antara dua negara itu boleh dikurangkan sekiranya Ukraine menangguhkan hasratnya menyertai NATO.
Krisis Rusia-Ukraine: Macron adakan pertemuan dengan Putin
Pemimpin Perancis itu berkata menyasarkan untuk "berdialog dengan Rusia dan mengurangkan ketegangan" melalui rundingan itu.
Rusia arah jet pejuang iringi pesawat peninjau AS di Laut Hitam
Hubungan dua hala antara AS dan Russia berada pada tahap terendah sejak Kesatuan Soviet berpecah pada 1991.
COVID-19: Kes positif cecah 202 juta dengan 4.2 juta kematian
Kes positif kini meningkat kepada 202 juta, dengan Amerika Syarikat kekal negara paling terjejas dengan lebih 35.7 juta kes.
Olimpik Tokyo: Syaqiera Mashayikh pamer panahan cemerlang sebelum tewas
Pemanah muda negara, Syaqiera Mashayikh, mempamerkan panahan cemerlang sebelum tewas 4-6 kepada peserta dari Jawatankuasa Olimpik Russia, Elena Osipova, dalam pusingan 32 acara recurve individu.
Pesawat Rusia bawa 28 penumpang dilaporkan hilang
Sebuah pesawat AN-26 Russia dengan 28 orang penumpang dilaporkan hilang di semenanjung Kamchatka di timur Russia, kata pihak berkuasa hari ini.
Menuju puncak! Sara Sofea yang pernah tawan Gunung Elbrus raih 9A SPM
Ternyata penglibatan dalam aktiviti sukan lasak tidak menghalang remaja berusia 18 tahun ini mencatat keputusan cemerlang 9A dalam peperiksaan Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), baru-baru ini.
COVID-19: Kes jangkitan melebihi 141 juta, korban lebih 3 juta
Angka kes positif kini meningkat kepada 141.01 juta, dengan Amerika Syarikat kekal negara paling terjejas dengan lebih 31.6 juta kes.
Tahniah! Filem 'Belaban Hidup: Infeksi Zombie' muncul filem terbaik festival filem di Rusia
Filem indie, 'Belaban Hidup: Infeksi Zombie' memenangi kategori Filem Terbaik dan Filem Seram Terbaik di International Symbolic Art Film Festival (ISAFF) di St Petersburg, Rusia.