Hackers Shut Down Kremlin Website

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The chaos in cyberspace continues, in light of the tense situation between Ukraine and Russia. During the weekend hackers opposing Russian President Vladimir Putin managed to shut down the Kremlin’s official website, in addition to shutting down the websites of the central bank and the foreign ministry. All websites were back up a few hours later.

A group known as Anonymous Russia hinted on twitter that it may be behind the attacks. Members of the same group attacked Putin before, in May 2012, following his third appointment as president.

IHLS – Israel Homeland Security

An official Russian source denied any connection between the attacks and the situation in Ukraine, which, at the time, was preparing to hold a referendum in Crimea over that district being annexed to Russia. A few days later it turned out that the vast majority of Crimeans were in favor of being annexed.

Recent tensions have seen Russia conduct cyber attacks against Ukraine and vice-versa, in addition to Russian net-censorship attempts in order to block anti-establishment criticism in social media. Immediately following the ousting of former Ukrainian President Yanukovich authorities reported a Russian cyber attack against the country’s communications infrastructure, including attempts to hack into cellular phones used by Ukrainian parliament members.

Source: Reuters