US Warns Of Russian Cyberattacks Against Ukraine

The United States and Britain warned Wednesday of new malware that attacks network devices, which the U.S. says has been commonly used by Russia.

The warning comes amid heightened concerns that Russia would use cyberattacks to weaken Ukraine as its military encroaches on two regions in eastern Ukraine, further raising fears of an invasion.

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued an advisory informing “organizations of Cyclops Blink, a new malware used by Sandworm and Voodoo Bear to target network devices.”

Sandworm, also known as Voodoo Bear, is allegedly a cyber military unit of Russia’s agency in charge of Russian military intelligence.

Britain’s National Cyber Security Center said “industry analysis” has associated Cyclops Blink with a large-scale botnet targeting small office and home office network devices and that it has been active since 2019.

After U.S. deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger warned her European counterparts earlier this month that Russia could use cyberattacks to destabilize Ukraine, the Ukrainian government announced Wednesday another in a series of massive Russian cyberattacks, shutting down the websites of some banks, its foreign ministry, security service and parliament at around 4 p.m. Kyiv time.

Ukrainian authorities said earlier this week they had seen online warnings that hackers were preparing to launch major attacks on government agencies, banks and the defense sector.

U.S. software maker Microsoft said in January that dozens of computer systems at an unspecified number of Ukrainian government agencies had been infected with destructive malware disguised as ransomware.

Moscow has denied any involvement in the attacks.