Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

The 3 Russian cyber-attacks the West most fears

The 3 Russian cyber-attacks the West most fears

US President Joe Biden has called on private companies and organisations in the US to "lock their digital doors", claiming that intelligence suggests Russia is planning a cyber-attack on the US.

The UK's cyber-authorities are also supporting the White House's calls for "increased cyber security precautions", though neither has given any evidence that Russia is planning a cyber-attack.

Russia has previously stated that such accusations are "Russophobic".

However, Russia is a cyber-superpower with a serious arsenal of cyber-tools, and hackers capable of disruptive and potentially destructive cyber-attacks.

Ukraine has remained relatively untroubled by Russian cyber-offensives but experts now fear that Russia may go on a cyber-offensive against Ukraine's allies.

"Biden's warnings seem plausible, particularly as the West introduced more sanctions, hacktivists continue to join the fray, and the kinetic aspects of the invasion seemingly don't go to plan," says Jen Ellis from cyber-security firm Rapid7.

Here are the hacks that experts most fear.

BlackEnergy - targeted critical infrastructure attack


Ukraine is often described as the hacking playground of Russia, which has carried out attacks there seemingly to test techniques and tools.

In 2015 Ukraine's electricity grid was disrupted by a cyber-attack called BlackEnergy, which caused a short-term blackout for 80,000 customers of a utility company in western Ukraine.

Ukraine's energy grid has been attacked twice by hackers


Nearly exactly a year later another cyber-attack known as Industroyer took out power for about one-fifth of Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, for around an hour.

The US and EU named and blamed Russian military hackers for the attacks.

"Russia could absolutely try to execute an attack like this against the West as an illustration of capabilities and to make a statement," says Ukrainian cyber-security responder Marina Krotofil, who helped investigate the power-cut hacks.

"However, no cyber-attack against a power grid has resulted in an extended interruption of power supply. Executing cyber-attacks on complex engineering systems in a reliable way is extremely difficult and achieving a prolonged damaging effect is sometimes impossible due to in-built protections."

Experts like Marina also hypothesise that this could backfire on Russia too, as the West most likely also has a decent foothold in Russian networks too.

NotPetya - uncontrollable destruction


NotPetya is thought to be the most costly cyber-attack in history and has been blamed on a group of Russian military hackers by the US, UK and EU authorities.

The destructive software was hidden in an update of popular accounting software used in Ukraine, but spread worldwide destroying the computer systems of thousands of companies and causing approximately $10bn of damage.

North Korean hackers are accused of causing huge disruption with a similar attack a month earlier.

This is what victims of WannaCry saw on their computers


The WannaCry "worm" (a kind of virus) scrambled data on approximately 300,000 computers in 150 countries. The UK's National Health Service was forced to cancel large numbers of medical appointments.

"These kinds of attacks would cause the greatest opportunity for mass chaos, economic instability, and even loss of life," says Jen Ellis.

"It might sound far-fetched, but critical infrastructure often depends on connected technologies just as much as every other part of our modern lives and we have seen the potential for that with the impact of the WannaCry on UK hospitals."

However, computer scientist at the University of Surrey Professor Alan Woodward says such attacks carry risks for Russia too.

"These types of uncontrollable hacks are much more like biological warfare in that it's very difficult to target specific critical infrastructure in specific places. WannaCry and NotPetya saw victims in Russia too."

Colonial Pipeline - cyber-criminal attacks intensify


In May 2021 a state of emergency in a number of US states after hackers caused a vital oil pipeline to shut down.

Fears over fuel shortages spurred some US consumers to panic-buy petrol


Colonial Pipeline carries 45% of the East Coast's supply of diesel, petrol and jet fuel and the supply led to panic at the gas pumps.

This attack wasn't carried out by Russian government hackers, but by the DarkSide ransomware group, which is thought to be based in Russia.

The pipeline company admitted to paying criminals $4.4m (£3.1m) in hard-to-trace Bitcoin, in order to get computer systems back up and running.

JBS, founded in Brazil in 1953, is the world's largest meat supplier


A few weeks later meat supplies were impacted when another ransomware crew called REvil attacked JBS, the world's largest beef processor.

One of the big fears experts have about Russian cyber-capabilities is that the Kremlin may instruct cyber-crime groups to co-ordinate attacks on US targets, to maximise disruption.

"The benefit of instructing cyber-criminals to carry out ransomware attacks is the general chaos they can cause. In large enough numbers they can cause serious economic damage," Prof Woodward says.

"It also comes with the added bonus of plausible deniability as these groups are a step removed from an attack by the Russian state."

How could the US respond?


In the highly unlikely case that a Nato country is on the receiving end of a cyber-attack that causes loss of life or huge irreparable damage, then this could trigger Article 5, the alliance's collective defence clause.

But experts say this would drag Nato into a war it does not want to be a part of, so any response is more likely to be from the US and close allies.

President Biden has already said that "we are prepared to respond" if Russia launches a large attack on the US.

However, the unprecedented cyber-chaos seen in Ukraine in recent weeks from vigilante hackers on either side of the war shows how easily things can escalate. So any action is likely to be extremely carefully considered.


Watch: What is ransomware and how does it work?


Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
×