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posted by janrinok on Saturday January 22 2022, @09:47AM   Printer-friendly

How a Russian cyberwar in Ukraine could ripple out globally:

The knock-on effects for the rest of the world might not be limited to  intentional reprisals by Russian operatives. Unlike old-fashioned war, cyberwar is not confined by borders and can more easily spiral out of control.

Ukraine has been on the receiving end of aggressive Russian cyber operations for the last decade and has suffered invasion and military intervention from Moscow since 2014. In 2015 and 2016, Russian hackers attacked Ukraine's power grid and turned out the lights in the capital city of Kyiv— unparalleled acts that haven't been carried out anywhere else before or since.

The 2017 NotPetya cyberattack, once again ordered by Moscow, was directed initially at Ukrainian private companies before it spilled over and destroyed systems around the world.

NotPetya masqueraded as ransomware, but in fact it was a purely destructive and highly viral piece of code. The destructive malware seen in Ukraine last week, now known as WhisperGate, also pretended to be ransomware while aiming to destroy key data that renders machines inoperable. Experts say WhisperGate is "reminiscent" of NotPetya, down to the technical processes that achieve destruction, but that there are notable differences. For one, WhisperGate is less sophisticated and is not designed to spread rapidly in the same way. Russia has denied involvement, and no definitive link points to Moscow.

NotPetya incapacitated shipping ports and left several giant multinational corporations and government agencies unable to function. Almost anyone who did business with Ukraine was affected because the Russians secretly poisoned software used by everyone who pays taxes or does business in the country.

The White House said the attack caused more than $10 billion in global damage and deemed it "the most destructive and costly cyberattack in history."

There can be no 'winners' - but are we even ready to defend ourselves against a cyberwar?

Previously:
(2019-02-18) Cyber Insurance claims NotPetya was an act of war
(2017-07-11) Original Petya Master Decryption Key Released


Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by khallow on Saturday January 22 2022, @01:34PM (7 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Saturday January 22 2022, @01:34PM (#1214777) Journal

    So they're claiming Russia is sophisticated enough to make a fake ransomware (in ukraine, the country known for being the source of most ransomware), But i guess those Reds just don't know how to put a kill switch in their attack helicopters.

    Sorry, this is pretty silly. Of course, Russia is sophisticated enough to do that. As to the kill switch, how do you keep a similarly sophisticated player like the US from removing said kill switch - assuming the Russians put it in in the first place?

    Why didn't they just give them US helicopters? Maybe the taliban got them all.

    Maybe because the Ukraine already has a lot [combataircraft.com] of Russian helicopters? Does it make sense to you to give something that the Ukraine couldn't maintain on their own?

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  • (Score: 2) by Username on Saturday January 22 2022, @03:50PM (4 children)

    by Username (4557) on Saturday January 22 2022, @03:50PM (#1214797)

    Nobody sells weapons that can be used against themselves. Like how those F-35s cannot lockon to a F-22, or those TT-33 clones that can't seem to hit the side of a barn. I repeat, there is no way russia will sell the united states weapons that will ever hurt russia. There is always something baked it.

    >Does it make sense to you to give something that the Ukraine couldn't maintain on their own?

    Yes. That is how the United States makes money, and controls the majority of the world.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @04:22PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @04:22PM (#1214810)

      Like sending them M-16 ammo for AK-47s? You send them weapons they know how to use.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @06:10PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @06:10PM (#1214827)

        A rifle is a rifle. Some are more reliable than others, but it's all simple "point and click", you know.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @07:32PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @07:32PM (#1214850)

          If the ammo fits use it.

    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday January 23 2022, @12:15AM

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Sunday January 23 2022, @12:15AM (#1214887) Journal

      Nobody sells weapons that can be used against themselves.

      To the contrary, everyone who sells weapons does. You might have to be a bit clever to do it, but that's one of the problems with weapons.

      >Does it make sense to you to give something that the Ukraine couldn't maintain on their own?

      Yes. That is how the United States makes money, and controls the majority of the world.

      Funny how reality isn't conforming to your narrative. So if the US isn't making money from these helicopters, then how did Ukraine end up with them?

  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @03:54PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @03:54PM (#1214798)

    Sense and Runaway are mutually exclusive.