CyberBerkut

CyberBerkut
Formationc. 2014
TypeVirtual community;
Voluntary association
PurposeInternet activism;
Internet vigilantism
Region served
Ukraine
MembershipUnknown
Websitecyber-berkut.ru or cyber-berkut.org

CyberBerkut (Russian: КиберБеркут, Ukrainian: КіберБеркут) is a modern organized group of pro-Russian hacktivists.[1] The group became locally known for a series of publicity stunts and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on Ukrainian government, and western or Ukrainian corporate websites.[2] By 2018, this group was accused by western intelligence agencies, such as National Cyber Security Centre (United Kingdom) of being linked to the GRU, providing plausible deniability.[3]

Background

The group emerged after the dissolution of special police force "Berkut" that became notorious for its violent repression used during the EuroMaidan demonstrations.[4] The group is anonymous. Their proclaimed goals are fighting against neo-fascism, neo-nationalism and arbitrary power in Ukraine. To further this aim, CyberBerkut activists targeted the "Right Sector" IT resources. CyberBerkut targets included NATO, and its allies.[5]

Activity

  • Attacks on NATO websites.[6][7]
  • Attacks on U.S. private military companies.[8]
  • Publication of correspondence of deputies of (political parties) Batkivshchyna and Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform.[9]
  • Publication of correspondence with the United States Embassy in Ukraine and United States foundations.[10]
  • Disclosure to public of telephone recording between Yulia Tymoshenko and Nestor Shufrych.[11][nb 1]
  • Disclosure to public of telephone recording between EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton and Foreign Minister of Estonia Urmas Paet.[13]
  • Blocking cellular phones of members of the Yatsenyuk Government and persons close to them.[14]
  • Blocking Internet resources of Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine Andriy Parubiy and news portals: LigaBusinessInform and Ukrainian Independent Information Agency.[15]
  • Publication of video materials that are blocked on YouTube.[1]
  • Attempts at disrupting the recruitment of the National Guard of Ukraine.
  • Attempted destruction of the electronic system of the Central Election Commission of Ukraine prior to the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election.
  • Publishing lists of alleged Ukrainian military deserters
  • Attempts at disrupting the work of the Central Election Commission of Ukraine by damaging the IFES system before the elections and blocking cellphones of their organisators.[16][17]
  • Temporary disruption of the websites of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the General Prosecutor of Ukraine. Websites of TV channels 1+1 and Inter were also temporary disrupted .
  • Email hacking and publication of the conversation between Ihor Kolomoyskyi and the persecutor of the Lviv Oblast, hacking of the computer and email of a person related to Ihor Kolomoyskiy.[18][19][20] Archives of the contents of 89 email accounts of Lviv oblast's prosecutor office employees.
  • Hacking and publishing of the Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov's conversation.[21]
  • Blocking of the website of the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko on 29 June 2014.[22]
  • Publication of the real name and biography of Semen Semenchenko – Konstantin Grishin.[23]
  • Hacking of the German Chancellery and the German Bundestag[24][5]
  • Hacked U.S. Senator John McCain's computers during a visit to Ukraine in 2015 and released a video depicting a fake ISIS beheading video being filmed[25]

The group also publishes pro-Donetsk People's Republic videos.[1] In one of them it is claimed that Ukrainian security forces are living under a "Jewish occupation".[1]

Response

  • Repeated blocking of CB's Facebook pages, although new ones have been made on the following day .
  • Likely in response to attacking the websites of Greystone Limited and Triple Canopy, CyberBerkut's websites have been temporarily disrupted. The websites started to work again on the following day.
  • Arrests of people suspected in relation to CyberBerkut.[26]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Tymoshenko claimed that the recording had been deliberately edited to discredit her.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Inside a pro-Russia propaganda machine in Ukraine, BBC News (13 November 2017)
  2. ^ "Ukraine conflict: Hackers take sides in virtual war". BBC News. 2014-12-20. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  3. ^ Sherman, Justin. "Russia's Cyber Threat to Ukraine Is Vast—and Underestimated". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
  4. ^ Ukraine's Berkut police: What makes them special?, BBC News (25 February 2014)
  5. ^ a b Wagstyl, Stefan (7 January 2015). "Ukraine separatists claim cyber attack on German government sites". Financial Times.
  6. ^ "NATO websites targeted in attack claimed by Ukrainian hacker group Cyber Berkut". ABC News. 16 March 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  7. ^ jenny. "Ukrainian Hacker Group CyberBerkut Launched a DDoS-attack on NATO". revolution-news.com. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  8. ^ "CyberBerkut takes vengeance on American private military com". Pastebin. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  9. ^ "Anonymous Ukraine Claims to hack and leak secret email conversations of Vitali Klitschko's UDAR party". HackRead. 13 February 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  10. ^ Jeffrey Carr. "Digital Dao". Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  11. ^ "Телефонный разговор между Шуфричем и Тимошенко. 18 марта 2014 года в 23:17 по украинскому времени". YouTube. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  12. ^ "Tymoshenko admits speaking to Shufrych, says her words about Russians were edited". Interfax-Ukraine. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  13. ^ Piret Pernik: teine taktika, sama strateegia (in Estonian)
  14. ^ Eduard Kovacs (17 March 2014). "Three NATO Websites Disrupted by Ukrainian Hackers of Cyber Berkut". softpedia. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  15. ^ NATO websites hit in cyber attack linked to Crimea tension.
  16. ^ "На сайте проводят регламентные работы технического характера в преддверии дня выборов. Такие работы проводились и ранее, в прошлые выборы. Работы проводятся, чтобы увеличить работоспособность сайта и увеличить его скорость", — сообщил РИА Новости пресс-секретарь комиссии Константин Хивренко.
  17. ^ "CNews: Õàêåðû çàÿâèëè îá óíè÷òîæåíèè ÈÒ-ñèñòåìû ÖÈÊ Óêðàèíû çà 2 äíÿ äî âûáîðîâ ïðåçèäåíòà". CNews.ru. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  18. ^ ""КиберБеркут": Коломойский спонсировал части Нацгвардии на юго-востоке". 25 May 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  19. ^ ""Life.ru" — информационный портал". Life.ru. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  20. ^ "КиберБеркут утверждает: на Украине готовится военный переворот". Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  21. ^ правды», Дарья ИВАШКИНА | Сайт «Комсомольской (22 April 2014). "Хакеры заявили, что взломали переписку Авакова об убийстве Сашко Билого". kp.ru -. Retrieved 2 August 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ "ТАСС: Международная панорама - Организация "Киберберкут" заблокировала сайт президента Украины". ТАСС. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  23. ^ "Хакеры узнали настоящее имя командира батальона "Донбасс"". Вести.ру. 30 July 2014.
  24. ^ Cyber-Angriff auf Kanzleramt und Bundestag, Die Welt, 7 January 2015.
  25. ^ "McCain: Russian Internet trolls say I staged ISIS executions". 13 July 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  26. ^ "СБУ задержала организацию хакеров "Киберберкут" - за попытку срыва выборов президента". finance.ua. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
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