Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

UKRAINE

Pro-Kremlin hackers launch another attack on official Italian sites

The Russia-linked hacker collective Killnet is engaged in an ongoing attack on Italian institutional websites, the second in two weeks, according to media reports.

Published: 20 May 2022 13:48 CEST
The pro-Russian collective Killnet have launched their second attack on Italian official websites in as many weeks.
The pro-Russian collective Killnet have launched their second attack on Italian official websites in as many weeks. Photo by THOMAS SAMSON / AFP.

The attack, which began on Thursday evening and was still in progress as of Friday early afternoon, was reportedly confirmed by Italy’s Postal Police who are investigating the matter.

Among the fifty or so institutions targeted are Italy’s Superior Council of the Judiciary, its Customs Agency, and its foreign affairs, education, and cultural heritage ministries, according to the newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore.

READ ALSO: Italy’s cybersecurity agency warns against use of Russian software

Killnet claimed the attack in a Telegram message, instructing its members to “fire on all fronts” in order to “liquidate the Italian information structure” – but to leave its healthcare system untouched.

On Friday shortly before 1pm Italian time, Italy’s embassy in London tweeted that the websites of the country’s foreign ministry and all its embassies had been hit and were out of action.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs website and consular applications at this location have been affected by a cyber attack,” the tweet reads.

“We apologize to users for inconveniences and delays in the processing of paperwork.”

Just last week, Killnet launched a separate cyberattack on the official Italian websites including those of Italy’s defence ministry and senate.

READ ALSO: Pro-Russia hackers target Italian official websites

On that occasion the issue was resolved within the space of hours, with senate President Elisabetta Alberti Casellati tweeting that no damage had ultimately been done.

In both cases, DDOS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks were used, which involves overloading a site’s servers by flooding it with requests but does not compromise its infrastructure.

Killnet targeted Romanian government websites last month, citing Romania’s support for Ukraine in the war against Russia, according to the country’s national cybersecurity agency.

Romania’s intelligence service said the group has also targeted official websites of the United States, Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia and NATO.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

UKRAINE

Italian deputy PM Salvini calls France’s Macron ‘danger’ for Europe

Italy's deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini, accused French President Emmanuel Macron Saturday of endangering Europe by refusing to rule out sending Western ground troops to Ukraine.

Published: 24 March 2024 09:38 CET
Italian deputy PM Salvini calls France's Macron 'danger' for Europe

The comments by Salvini, whose far-right League party is a member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s coalition government, came during a gathering in Rome of right-wing and nationalist European leaders to rally support ahead of EU parliamentary elections in June.

Macron’s suggestion last month that Western ground troops could be sent to Ukraine was “extremely dangerous, excessive and out of balance,” Salvini told the event organised by the European Parliament’s Identity and Democracy political group.

“I think that President Macron, with his words, represents a danger for our country and our continent,” Salvini said during his speech, which largely stressed conservative family values.

“The problem isn’t mums and dads but the warmongers like Macron who talk about war as if there were no problem now,” he added.

“I don’t want to leave our children a continent ready to enter World War Three.”

READ ALSO: Macron says ground operations in Ukraine possible ‘at some point’

Portugal’s Andre Ventura, leader of Portugal’s far-right party Chega that surged in a general election earlier this month, also spoke at the event, as did Harald Vilimsky of the Freedom Party of Austria and former US presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, among others.

France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen did not personally attend, instead sending a video message.

The outspoken Salvini, who serves as transport minister, is a hardline populist whose comments have often landed him in hot water.

Earlier this month, he responded to the Russian election result by saying: “When a people vote, they are always right”.

Following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny last month, he said it was “up to Russian doctors and judges” to determine the cause.

Salvini has previously expressed his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Macron’s comments last month in which he refused to rule out putting troops on the ground in Ukraine prompted a stern response from Berlin and other European partners.

 
 
SHOW COMMENTS