"Private" hacker groups start working for Russia – Head of Ukraine's State Special Communications Service

This was reported in an interview with Ukrinform by Oleksandr Potii, Head of Ukraine’s State Special Communications Service.

"Ukrainian information systems are being attacked by hacker groups that are effectively structural units of Russian intelligence agencies: the FSB’s UAC-0010 (Armageddon) and UAC-0036 (Calisto); the Main Directorate of the Russian General Staff’s UAC-0002 (Sandworm) and UAC-0001 (APT28); as well as other groups that are equally controlled by Russian intelligence. Among the latter, there are many hacktivist groups, such as XakNet, CyberArmyofRussia, and Zarya," Potii stated.

According to Potii, these "hacktivist groups" primarily specialize in DDoS attacks, propaganda dissemination, and psychological operations. However, some are directly controlled by Russian intelligence agencies and serve to publicly showcase "achievements" in cyberattacks.

"Additionally, some private hacker groups have started working for the aggressor state. For example, UAC-0050, which announced the cessation of its 'professional' activities under the 'DaVinci Group' brand just days before Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, is now one of the most active groups," added Potii.

As Ukrinform previously reported, over the past year, Russian hackers have increasingly targeted Ukraine’s security and defense sector, as well as companies directly associated with it.