Russian cyber attack on Ukraine could quickly spread worldwide, experts warn
dailystar.co.ukRussian troops are massed on Ukraine’s border, threatening to ignite a land war on a scale that Europe hasn’t seen in generations.But while there’s still a small chance that politicians could end the crisis without a shot being fired, a cyber war is already raging on computer systems across the region.And unlike conventional conflicts, online warfare has a habit of spilling over into countries that aren’t directly involved.While no-one has claimed responsibility, last week’s massive WhisperGate virus attack which crippled a number of Ukrainian government websites is widely believed to be the work of Russian hackers.During the attack, users were unable to access their data, instead being faced with a message that read: "Your hard drive has been corrupted.
In case you want to recover all hard drives of your organisation, you should pay us $10k via bitcoin wallet". But Ukrainian systems aren’t the only networks in the firing line.
John Hultquist, head of intelligence for cybersecurity consultants Mandiant, told Technology Review that the US could soon be targeted.“Aggressive cyber operations are tools that can be used before bullets and missiles fly,” he said.
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