Internet disruptions observed as Russia targets critical infrastructure in Ukraine

While the Russian army is conducting coordinated missile and drone strikes in Ukraine experts observed Internet disruptions in the country.

Starting on the morning of Monday, October 10, the Russian army is targeting several cities in Ukraine with coordinated missile and drone strikes. The escalation is a retaliation for the bombing of a bridge connecting Crimea to Russia. The strategy adopted by Moscow consists of disrupting energy and telecoms infrastructure in multiple regions of the country.

Global internet monitor NetBlocks reported widespread Internet disruptions in the country as a result of the attacks.

“Network data show major sustained impacts to infrastructure across much of #Ukraine after a series of reprisal attacks by Russia; energy facilities have been targeted per President’s office” reported the observatory. “Following rapid repair efforts, much of the lost connectivity was restored by Tuesday”

Regions around cities (Kharkiv, Sumy, Lviv, zaporizhzhia) that were the targets of the attacks were heavily impacted.

Network connectivity was observed to fall to 81% of ordinary levels in Kyiv City after the Russian attacks on infrastructure.

“Work is ongoing to assess the incidents and their contexts. Telecoms disruptions in Ukraine have so far been attributed to power outages, cyberattacks, sabotage, and kinetic impacts.” continues the Netblock.

As part of hybrid warfare, the Russian government launched cyber-attacks that have disrupted Ukraine’s defence and banking sectors.

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Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, Ukraine)

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