Viasat Satellite Attack attributed to Russia

An Viasat satellite internet service atrack that resulted in a broader outage during February 2022 has officially been attributed to Russia.

The U.K. National Cyber Security Center said in a statement today that it’s almost certain that Russia was responsible for the cyberattack on Feb. 24.

Though believed to be targeted at the Ukrainian military, the attack also resulted in other customers being affected, including personal and commercial internet users. Wind farms in Europe were also affected.

In a statement, the U.S. DOS also condemned the attack by Russia that it used destructive wiper malware in some of its attacks targeting Ukraine.

Security searchers detailed the use of data wiper malware against the Viasat KA-SAT network in March. The form of wiper malware used, dubbed AcidRain, wipes the contents of modems and routers.

The EU warned in its statement today that further cyberattacks targeting Ukraine, including against critical infrastructure, could spill over into other countries and cause systemic effects, putting Europe’s citizens’ security at risk.