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In a strategic move to disrupt Russia’s energy infrastructure, Ukraine’s intelligence agency has executed a sophisticated cyber operation aimed at contractors tied to Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned energy conglomerate. The primary focus of this digital assault was Gazstroyprom, a St. Petersburg-based subsidiary that oversees critical operations in gas production, transportation, and processing for Gazprom.
This offensive is believed to be a response to Gazstroyprom’s continued support of Moscow’s aggressive actions in Ukraine, particularly along the contested eastern border, according to Ukrainian media. The Ukrainian cyber campaign, which was carried out with the support of Ukraine’s armed forces, also targeted a total of 22 companies directly involved in maintaining Russia’s oil and gas infrastructure.
Reports indicate that the cyberattack had a significant impact on the targeted organizations. Over 120 physical network servers were rendered non-functional, causing severe disruption to operations. Additionally, the hackers accessed and compromised approximately 2,000 terabytes of critical data stored within the affected companies. The scale of the attack also included the disabling of roughly 10,000 employee computers, further hindering the functionality of these firms. According to Ukrainian sources, the financial damage caused by the operation is estimated to be in the range of tens to hundreds of millions of dollars, severely affecting the companies’ ability to continue their work.
This digital operation comes at a time when Ukraine is building up its cyber defense capabilities, receiving more than $500 million in funding for 2024 from international partners. In response to the increasing threats in the digital space, Ukraine also revealed plans to establish a dedicated military cybersecurity branch. This new division will focus on securing Ukraine’s critical infrastructure and responding to cyberattacks. The country also launched an incident response center aimed at mitigating cyber threats targeting its armed forces.
This latest cyber operation highlights Ukraine’s growing cyber warfare capabilities, underscoring the expanding role of digital conflicts in modern warfare.
