- Russian hackers launched a cyberattack that caused several US government websites to be taken offline.
The pro-Kremlin Killnet group is believed to have targeted websites in Colorado, Kentucky and Mississippi, causing disruptions across the country on Wednesday.
The websites that were affected contained information on how Americans can register to vote before the midterm elections.
The website for the Kentucky Board of Elections has reportedly gone offline, according to CNN. It is not known if it was deliberately targeted by hackers.
Websites in Kentucky and Mississippi were back online Wednesday afternoon.
However, the Colorado Governor’s Office of Information Technology said the website was down “due to a cyberattack claimed by an anonymous foreign actor.”
Since then, the hacking group claims to have “impacted” a login network used by thousands of Department of Defense websites. It comes just days after the Killnet shared plans online that revealed the cell intended to target US institutions, according to The Mirror.
Hackers have shared anti-NATO and anti-Western content on Telegram. But, FBI officials have said any hack attempt is “unlikely” to cause widespread disruption.
The researchers added: “Any attempts tracked by the FBI and CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) remained localized and were successfully blocked or mitigated with little to no disruption to the election process.”.
But they warned that foreign actors may “seek to spread or amplify false or exaggerated claims” regarding possible violations of electoral infrastructure.
Killnet has been behind attacks against institutions in several countries following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, including Estonia, Norway, Italy, and Lithuania.
Expert Stefan Soesanto of the ETH Zurich Center for Security Studies told Politico in September: “Many in Russia see them (Killnet) as a hero.
“Killnet’s goal is to make Europeans pay for their unequivocal support for Ukraine and to punish Western governments for their anti-Russian sentiment.”
The attack on US government websites came just days after Ukrainian intelligence sources warned that Moscow is reportedly planning massive cyberattacks against the country and its allies.
Fears persist that Moscow could launch an attack amid Western-imposed sanctions.