Third Day of Pro-Russian Cyber Attacks in Italy: Financial Institutions, Defence Industry Targeted
The pro-Russian hacker group Noname057(16) continues to attack Italian companies - on 19 February, it launched the third wave of cyberattacks in a row, targeting the websites of banks, arms companies and public transport, ANSA reports.
The hackers attacked the websites of Mediobanca, Nexi, Benelli, Fiocchi, and Danieli.
As in previous attacks on government agencies, law enforcement, financial institutions, airports and transport companies, the attackers used DDoS attacks, which led to overloading of websites and their inaccessibility.
The Italian National Cybersecurity Agency intervened to warn companies of the threat and help them restore their websites.
Two days ago, on 17 February, hackers carried out DDoS attacks on about 20 web resources in Italy, including banks and airports.
The next day, on 18 February, the Noname057(16) group carried out another wave of attacks on Italian institutions.
Experts attribute these cyberattacks to a statement by Italian President Sergio Mattarella, who compared Russia's aggression against Ukraine to the expansion of Nazi Germany on the eve of World War II. His words caused dissatisfaction in the Kremlin, but Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni supported this position.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Mattarella's words ‘will not remain without consequences’.