Cyprus' critical infrastructure targeted by coordinated cyberattacks linked to pro-Palestine groups

Cyprus’ crucial infrastructure and authorities web sites had been focused in a sequence of coordinated cyberattacks claimed by a number of pro-Palestine hacker teams.

The nation’s cyber officers reported that many of the assaults had been unsuccessful, inflicting solely momentary disruptions to focused services, together with banks, airports and authorities web sites.

The primary warnings a few potential cyber operation in opposition to Cyprus emerged final week, following statements on Telegram and darkish net boards from teams resembling LulzSec Black, Moroccan Troopers, Black Maskers Military and Nameless Syria. The teams claimed they’d compromise Cypriot companies to “punish” the nation for its help of Israel.

“This operation was carried out in response to Cyprus’ help for the occupying, usurping entity,” mentioned hackers from the LulzSec Black group, including in a separate assertion that they’d cease the assaults if Cyprus modified its place towards Israel and despatched meals provide planes to the Gaza Strip.

A Cyprus-based cybersecurity agency, Odyssey, confirmed that native authorities companies had been on excessive alert because the hackers’ bulletins. The agency added that the assaults look like politically motivated.

Whereas Cyprus has taken a impartial place within the ongoing Israel-Palestine battle, the nation has traditionally supported Israel’s army. In recent times, Israel has used Cypriot territory to coach its troops and performed drills within the nation’s airspace. In response to latest studies, the U.Okay. has allegedly used its army bases in Cyprus to produce arms to Israel for its operations in Gaza and southern Lebanon.

It stays unclear what particularly motivated the hackers to focus on Cyprus or whether or not they’re backed by any state.

Among the many affected providers had been the federal government’s major on-line portal, Cyprus’ electrical energy and telecommunications authorities, the nation’s main financial institution, an oil firm and the operator of two native airports. Most reported being hit by distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) assaults, although hackers additionally claimed to have exfiltrated delicate knowledge.

Hermes, the native airport operator, mentioned it had briefly taken its web site offline as a precaution following the assault, however airport operations had been unaffected, apart from its on-line parking reservation service. Native media reported that airport checkpoints and police management programs operated slower than ordinary final week as programs had been upgraded to stop additional threats.

The nation’s digital ministry mentioned in a press release on Sunday that the assault on the federal government’s central on-line portal brought on it to be unavailable for only some minutes, with no different ministry or authorities service web sites affected. DDoS assaults sometimes flood focused websites with junk site visitors, making them briefly unreachable.

George Michaelides, Cyprus’ prime cyber official, mentioned that though residents weren’t straight impacted, corporations must be ready to repel future assaults shortly and restore providers.

In response to the hackers’ newest threats of recent assaults, Michaelides mentioned that such bulletins purpose to create panic.

“There must be no panic; we simply need to be ready,” he added.

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