Meet the hacker fighting Russia from the comfort of his own home

As conflict rages not distant from him in Kharkiv, Serhii is doing battle from the consolation of his dwelling.

In his room in Sumy, simply 20 kilometres from Russia in north-east Ukraine, the 33-year-old has every little thing wanted to make a Molotov cocktail.

However, for now, he is not waging conflict in opposition to Moscow bodily. 

As a substitute, he is collaborating in the Ukrainian authorities’s digital assaults on Russia, aimed toward shutting down Russian authorities web sites and disrupting Moscow’s capacity to share info.

When the conflict broke out, Kyiv launched a Telegram channel referred to as the IT Military Of Ukraine, which shares details about how and what Russian digital infrastructure to assault. 

Serhii, a software program developer, determined to place his expertise to make use of. 

“We have to crush all of the financial system of Russia and all its empire,” Herenko instructed Euronews, “Russia is doing precise crimes right here in Ukraine, killing our individuals. We’ve to provide again in the identical approach, and even worse. All of us, the most effective that we will.”

The Russian navy surrounded Sumy for a number of days and Serhii stated he might hear the bombardments from his home windows. Earlier than the invasion, he used to have a extra impartial view of Russia and even spoke Russian as his first language.

“However after what has occurred, I’ve switched to Ukrainian,” he stated. “It appears that evidently no person in Russia understands our anger after what occurred in Mariupol and Bucha. 

‘IT military is greater than 300,000 robust’

Slava Banik is in control of the IT Military Of Ukraine at Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation. 

He says the initiative is considered one of some ways the federal government is preventing again in opposition to Russia. 

He claims that greater than 300,000 individuals — not simply Ukrainians — are collaborating within the military, attempting to disrupt the Russian efforts.

A technique is to overwhelm Russian web sites with junk site visitors, bringing them offline. It’s a easy tactic that strange residents can use, and it targets Russian banks, governmental web sites, media, and even retailers and streaming providers.

“This volunteer motion, or the military, they’re attacking the governmental portals, web sites and the infrastructure, the railway infrastructure, and so forth,” stated Banik. 

“And naturally, the banking and different sectors are utilized by a whole lot of Russian individuals.

“Greater than 70% of Russians help this invasion they usually, in fact, additionally should really feel the outcomes of their invasion into Ukraine and their help for this conflict.”

The purpose is to enrage the Russian inhabitants and switch them in opposition to Vladimir Putin.

The IT Military Of Ukraine has claimed to efficiently have shut down Russian web sites and financial institution providers. Banik stated it’s a approach for the federal government to alter the traditionally defensive place in opposition to Russian digital assaults on Ukraine. 

On a number of events earlier than the conflict, Ukraine has been focused by Russian hackers, with its infrastructure critically affected, comparable to in 2017 when a number of Ukrainian governmental our bodies have been hit. 

“Earlier than the conflict, we by no means tried to assault Russia, however as an alternative labored on our safety,” stated Banik, “However after the conflict began, we understood that we should always reply.”

The IT Military of Ukraine shouldn’t be the one initiative. 

The Ministry of Digital Transformation has additionally arrange a function in its governmental app Diia named єВорог (e-enemy), the place individuals can report and share movies and pictures of Russian military positions. Banik says the federal government has obtained greater than 300,000 experiences from civilians.

‘We see a rise in assaults’

Dr Matthias Schulze is a cyber-security skilled and deputy head of the analysis division on the German Institute for Worldwide and Safety Affairs. He has been analysing the cyberwar between Russia and the West for years and says that he has seen a spike for the reason that Russian invasion in February. Not solely between Ukraine and Russia.

“We see a rise in hacktivists (group of hackers) assaults on Russian providers comparable to the key service FSB, banks, media web sites, and firms comparable to Gazprom,” stated Schulze, stating that Russians are doing the identical in Ukraine and the West.

He says that there are three primary classes of assaults. 

Delicate assaults, the place hackers briefly shut down media, governmental, and firm web sites by overwhelming their servers. 

Extra extreme assaults, the place hackers attempt to steal delicate knowledge to leak it to the general public. 

Then there are probably the most damaging assaults, the place hackers attempt to set up ransomware in crucial infrastructures comparable to railroads and power producers to close them down.

Schulze stated the primary two have been seen after the Russian invasion of Ukraine however that it’s arduous to say who particularly is behind it.

“We’ve seen many cyberattacks, however the depth or high quality hasn’t been so horrifying,” stated Schulze. “We all know that Russia, for instance, can do extra injury, however they haven’t succeeded to date.”