With cyberattacks already launched against Crimean separatists, the Kremlin and NATO, the ground war may not have started in Ukraine but computer warfare is already raging. In recent days — and with increasing intensity on Sunday — a virtual war has commenced in the countries at the centre of the worst East-West diplomatic crisis since the end of the Cold War. The “soldiers” of this war don’t wear uniforms and don’t necessarily swear allegiance to one particular country. Their chosen weapon is the “Denial of Service” attack designed to overwhelm web servers and make their websites unusable. The attacks accelerated as soon as voting booths opened on Sunday for the referendum in Crimea on whether the region will join Russia. The site created by separatist groups to monitor the vote was blocked for an hour on Sunday, with the pro-Russian government accusing hackers from an American university, Urbana-Champaign in Illinois, of being behind the attack.
A few hours earlier, NATO, which has come out in support of the new, pro-Western government in Kiev, reported an attack on its servers by Ukrainian hackers using the name “CyberBerkut” which shut down three of its websites.
In a message posted on their own site, the group said it will “not allow a NATO presence on the territory of our homeland.”
The group’s name is a reference to “Berkut”, the riot police unit used by former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych against anti-government protesters prior to his ouster last month.
Although the sites could not be used for several hours, NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said the attacks had no operational impact.
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