Pro-Russian Hackers Claim Responsibility for Attacks on Multiple UK Websites | Cybercrime News

A hacking group supportive of Russia has announced that they targeted various UK websites during a three-day campaign, which included local councils and the Police and Crime Commissioners’ Association.

Through a series of posts on social media, the group, known as NonMaMe057 (16), claimed many sites were temporarily inaccessible, although reports indicate that the attack was not entirely successful.

The hackers attempted to overwhelm several websites with traffic in a type of attack known as a distributed denial of service (DDoS). They stated on platform X: “Ukraine disputes, and we are cutting that resource.”

Despite the group’s claims of success, Blackburn with Darwen and Exeter councils reported that their websites remained unaffected.

Many other targeted organizations, such as the Police and Crime Commissioners’ Association, Harwich International Port, and Cardiff City Council, were unable to comment on the situation.

Officials mentioned that if a website experienced temporary unavailability due to sudden traffic surges, it would typically be operational again within hours.

A spokesperson for Arun District Council commented, “On Tuesday morning, from around 7:15 am, our website was fully operational by 11:30 am. We are aware of the claims made on X and are continuing to investigate.”

National Highways also encountered a DDoS attack but stated that their website would soon return to normal functionality.

This incident mirrors an attempt to disrupt multiple council websites last October. While resident data was not compromised, the websites were briefly disabled due to overwhelming traffic.

The National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) noted at that time that they “provided guidance” to the affected local authorities. “Although DDoS attacks tend to be less sophisticated and impactful, they can cause significant disruption by blocking legitimate users from accessing online services,” they added.

Since its inception in 2022, NONAME057 (16) has employed such tactics to disrupt the functioning of various Ukrainian, European, and American governmental entities and media outlets. In January 2023, they targeted the website of a Czech presidential candidate, marking their first political attack.

A survey by cybersecurity firm Bridewell last summer revealed that 63% of government sector companies experienced ransomware attacks over the past year. The National Audit Office cautioned in January that “cyber threats to the UK government will pose serious risks and evolve rapidly.”

Recently, the NCSC was compelled to issue new guidance on retailer cyber attack vulnerabilities, which appeared to originate from criminals targeting help desks. This included attacks on well-known retailers such as Marks & Spencer, the Co-op, and Harrods.

Criminals focused on these help desks to alter passwords and reset authentication processes in order to gain access to systems.

Regarding the attacks on retailers, the NCSC stated, “We are not in a position to determine whether this is connected, whether it represents a coordinated campaign by a single actor, or if there is no connection at all.”