Ukraine and Russia have reported cyber-attacks on emergency air-raid warning systems. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
Earlier, there was a hack of an app in Ukraine, and then in Russia. As noted, this was a direct attack on a core channel of communications between Ukrainian authorities and citizens; this app is embedded in everyday life in a war zone.
While the full impact of the hack is still unclear – how many Ukrainians were deceived and believed the warnings? – residents nonetheless have described how alarming it was getting a message on their phone warning of potential nuclear warfare.
Cyber-warfare expert Don Smith, from Sophos’ counter threat unit, says these sorts of attacks are aimed at grounding down people’s mental toughness.
“Disinformation is as much a part of war as bombs and bullets. Targeted information attacks could aim to impact the mental resilience of the people of Ukraine. Their resilience is a key part of their ability to defend against the Russian military,” he said.
However he noted the amateurish nature of this attack. One of the messages sent out, in Russian, was almost jokey and casual in tone, reading: “Hi! There will be a nuclear alert across Ukraine. Don’t worry, it’s Oreshnik flying”, a reference to Russia’s hypersonic missiles which can pretzel and outpace most interceptors.
“Usually the best information warfare is not obvious or explicit, where this very clearly is. It could indicate desperation from Russia,” Smith added.
Recall that earlier there was a hacker attack on the emergency alert app in Ukraine, after which a similar incident was recorded in Russia. These events have once again brought the issue of information security in wartime to the fore.