Cyberattacks by the hacker group “Sandworm” from Russia are said to have targeted Internet terminals of Starlink in Ukraine for a considerable time. The German government now wants to finance alternative devices from Sweden.
The Ukrainian domestic secret service SSU has made public a hacking campaign on military infrastructure that is suspected to have been directed from Russia. The attackers are said to have used tablets belonging to Ukrainian soldiers that were seized “on the battlefield”. The apps on the tablets are said to have been connected to military networks and served as a gateway for the hackers. The attack reportedly worked on devices with Android operating systems.
SSU employees described as “cyber experts” attribute the long-term campaign to Russian military espionage. According to the report, it was carried out by the hacker group “Sandworm,” which is presumed to be controlled by the latter. The “illegal activities” have since been stopped. The SSU announced it would “document the illegal activities” of enemy intelligence agencies and bring the perpetrators to justice.
In a technical documentation, the Ukrainian secret service describes the attackers’ modus operandi. According to this, at least ten different Trojans were distributed in Ukrainian networks. The SSU does not say whether the attacks were successful or what data they leaked.
According to the statement, the campaign mainly targeted the Starlink system and spied out its “configuration”. With the decentralized satellite service of billionaire Elon Musk, Ukraine wants to provide access to the Internet even in the war zone. However, Musk had announced that he would prevent the military use of the system.
For the military’s continued use of portable satellite Internet terminals, Ukraine is now reportedly receiving support from NATO countries. According to a report in the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, the company Satcube, also based in Sweden, is supplying 100 such devices.
The Satcube terminals are said to have lower connection speeds compared to Starlink, but greater reliability and resistance to cyberattacks. The $6 million purchase is being financed from Germany, according to the report.
Published in German in „nd“.
Image: Kyivcity.gov.ua, Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko with a Starlink user terminal, CC BY 4.0.
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