Russian Killnet Hacker Group Attacking West

A new hybrid threat to the West: Killnet is threatening the lives of ordinary Europeans

Russian intelligence services are widely using the services of hackers to mine relevant information or damage Western servers and database storage facilities. On the eve of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Russian hacker groups carried out massive attacks on the digital infrastructure of not only Ukraine but also Western countries. One of the most aggressive in this respect is the Killnet hacker network. On 9th April it announced an attack on NATO's digital infrastructure, and on 19th April it announced a 100-hour attack - an unprecedented long attack on the European Organisation for the Security of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol). Hundreds of civilian aircraft flights failed to depart on time and there was a massive failure in the control centre. Because of Russian hackers, the lives of thousands of Europeans have been endangered. This is cyber terrorism that directly affects the West - a Russian hybrid threat, in this case, manifested in hacking attacks on civilian infrastructure.

Russian security services make extensive use of cyberterrorism, in this case, to inflict maximum damage on Western countries. A parallel can be drawn between the actions of the Russian army in Ukraine and those of Russian cyber criminals in the digital space. At the beginning of their invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Armed Forces sought to seize Ukrainian territory and Ukrainian infrastructure to get to Russia, and Russian hackers sought to extract information from the Ukrainian and foreign segments of the network. As it weakened, the Russian army became bogged down in positional battles and began simply destroying surrounding settlements and carrying out remote terror with missiles - senseless malevolent attacks, causing casualties and destruction in civilian cities. Russian hackers, too, have changed tactics and now seek to commit cybercrime simply to cause damages and loss - such as the aforementioned attack on Eurocontrol which endangered the lives of thousands of Europeans. Russian cyber terrorism is already in the EU, and it has added to Putin's spectrum of hybrid threats against the West.

Russia is the common enemy of the civilised world. Its threat is everywhere, from the front lines in Ukraine and NATO's eastern flank to European cities where Russian mercenaries infiltrate, and the cyberspace of Western countries. Russia is a global terrorist with no purpose other than to cause maximum damage and destruction. It is an existential threat to the West. Russia must be defeated comprehensively: weapons for Ukraine, sanctions, and isolation. Otherwise, the hybrid threats posed by Russia will overwhelm the West, leading to terrorist attacks, casualties, and destruction.