Russia coordinating cyberattacks with military strikes in Ukraine: Microsoft
A handful of hacker groups aligned with the Russian government have carried out hundreds of cyberattacks against Ukraine since Moscow invaded, US tech giant Microsoft said in a report Wednesday.
It added that in "hybrid" warfare tactics, Russia often matches cyberattacks with military assaults on the battlefield.
"Starting just before the invasion, we have seen at least six separate Russia-aligned nation-state actors launch more than 237 operations against Ukraine," said Microsoft, which is working with Ukrainian cybersecurity experts and private companies to counter such attacks.
It said the cyber-warfare included "destructive attacks that are ongoing and threaten civilian welfare."
In the first week of the invasion, the report said Russian hackers attacked a major Ukrainian media broadcaster on "the same day the Russian military announced its intention to destroy Ukrainian 'disinformation' targets and directed a missile strike against a TV tower in Kyiv."
It said the aim of such coordinated attacks was to "disrupt or degrade Ukrainian government and military functions and undermine the public's trust in those same institutions."