Cyber specialists of Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) carried out a cyberattack on online platforms of the Russian financial industry on Oct. 2, a military intelligence source told the Kyiv Independent.
Russian banks Alfa-Bank and Otkritie Bank, as well as Rostelecom, Russia's largest provider of digital services, were targeted, the source said, adding that these firms "ensured the aggression of the Russian Armed Forces against Ukraine."
The attack caused a "global failure" in the rapid payment system, shutting down banks' mobile applications and online banking systems as well as the financial institutions' internal services, according to the source.
Ukrainian hackers have been attacking Russian online platforms on a regular basis since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.
A previous cyberattack on Russian banks was carried out on Sept. 14, targeting Bank Rossiya, Tinkoff Bank, Gaz Bank, and the Quick Payment System (SBP) from Russia's Central Bank.
Between Sept. 23 and 26, cyber specialists of Ukraine's military intelligence attacked over 800 servers in various regions of Russia.
In late August, Ukrainian hackers attacked the servers of Russian internet providers and blocked "dozens" of online platforms at industrial facilities in Russia. The attack affected at least 33 servers and 283 office computers at industrial facilities, took down 21 websites, and destroyed 15 cloud and file storage systems.
A large-scale cyberattack in late June left at least 250,000 consumers in occupied Crimea and other Russian-controlled territories without communication.
The June attack reportedly affected both the networks of consumers and operators that used the impacted infrastructure in Russian-occupied territories. Representatives of Russian providers called it "the most powerful DDoS attack they have ever experienced," Ukraine's military intelligence said.
Kateryna Denisova
