Major pro-Russian hacking group busted in Europol operation

A notorious international cybercrime organisation with ties to pro-Russian interests has been shut down following a coordinated operation led by Europol and Eurojust, according to France 24 via Reuters on July 22nd.

The targeted crime network, identified as NoName057(16), is accused of orchestrating thousands of attacks across Europe, primarily aimed at Ukraine and its allies. The group is believed to have launched large-scale distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on critical infrastructure and government websites, causing severe disruptions to operations across multiple sectors.

Between July 14th and 17th, authorities carried out raids in 12 countries, resulting in a significant breakthrough with the arrests of two suspects in France and Spain.

Europol confirmed in a statement that, “The actions led to the disruption of an attack-infrastructure consisting of over one hundred computer systems worldwide, while a major part of the group’s central server infrastructure was taken offline.”

Further steps have been taken, with anti-crime agencies issuing seven additional international arrest warrants, six of which target suspects located in Russia. Two of these individuals are believed to be the primary architects behind the group’s cyber operations.

Specifically, the hacking network is being charged with multiple attacks on critical European infrastructure, including government agencies, arms manufacturers, energy providers and public transport systems. The group’s weapon of choice was DDoS attacks, which overwhelm websites and systems with massive volumes of traffic, rendering them inoperable.

“Offenders associated to the NoName057(16) cybercrime network targeted primarily Ukraine” Europol stated, “but [they] have shifted their focus to attacking countries that support Ukraine in the ongoing defence against the Russian war of aggression, many of which are members of NATO.”

In response to the ongoing threat Russia poses to NATO security, Secretary-General Mark Rutte recently warned that countries trading with Russia without pressing for peace could face tougher sanctions.

Among the NATO countries hardest hit was Germany, which experienced 14 attacks during the investigation period. Some of these incidents lasted several days and affected approximately 230 organisations, including government bodies, defence contractors, and energy companies.

Further cybercrimes were also committed during the European elections. Several Swedish government websites and online banking platforms were taken offline. In Switzerland, the cyberattacks coincided with both a June 2023 speech by Ukraine’s president and the June 2024 peace summit.

The arrests come as Ukraine seeks renewed peace talks with Russia amidst increasing casualties.

France 24 via Reuters, Maghrebi.org