Having failed the mission to collapse the Italian internet, the Russian hacker group Killnet exalts the men of CSIRT. The praise comes from none other than what appears to be the head of pro-Kremlin cyber activists, Killmilk. In the night, he posts a message on the Telegram channel where on behalf of the group compliments the Csirt and his ability to repel the “thousands of attacks” made on Italy, even going so far as to ask for a salary increase of “several thousand dollars” for those who work there. Messages of respect, even love: “Excellent specialists”, “good professionals”, even gifs; the symbol of Csirt Italia and a heart. It’s really like this?
The board
Hacker attack on Italy. What is Killnet, the Russian group that claimed it
by Arcangelo Rociola, Arturo Di Corinto
11 Maggio 2022
What happened between Killnet and Csirt
On 29 May evening, the Killnet group announced an imminent and devastating attack on the internet in Italy. Many took the threat seriously. Killnet had made a name for herself in the previous weeks for having attacked and, in some cases, put out of use about fifty Italian, institutional sites, large national companies and practically all Italian media. They had attacked, among others, the site of the Police, that of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, of the Interior, of the Senate. This time they seem to have failed. And it would seem thanks to the Csirt that would have repelled all attacks.
Russia-Ukraine
Russian hackers attack the site of the State Police: “Now open war on 10 countries”
by Arcangelo Rociola
16 Maggio 2022
On the day of the announcement of the “total attack” someone from Killnet had also specified to an Italian cybersecurity blog that the attack would be triggered at exactly 5 am and that it would annihilate the entire network in Italy. One scoop. An earthquake announced. Killnet on its channel had even rewarded the diligence of this blog by defining it as the only information site in Italy which tells the truth about cyberwar between Russia and the West. But if the information and praise comes from a group of 20-year-olds playing cyberwarfare with a botnet as Killnet appears to be, anything is to be expected. Even that a scoop is a hoax. Or a mockery.
IT security
Killnet attacks: “Italy killed like a mosquito”. But what damage have the Russian hackers done?
by Arcangelo Rociola
20 Maggio 2022
Because, after the announcement, nothing happened at 5 am on May 30th. And nothing happened in the hours that followed. Nothing for the whole day. No attack. No net on your knees. Some stinging message (before the Csirt symbol with the heart, the Csirt symbol with a hanged man had been published 6 hours earlier). But nothing more. At the end of the 24 hours comes the praise to the Italian IT technicians. Could it be true? Are they sincere or are they teasing?
The stumbling block of the troll
In Scandinavian literature, the troll is a more devious monster than a bad one. It doesn’t hurt, but it sidetracks. It is not a demon, it is a stumbling block. Internet culture thrives on trolls from its origins. I troll di internet they are not very different from the trolls of Scandinavian literature. Amano teased him, the joke, the grin. They tend to make the traveler (of the net) go away from the exact understanding of things. They often make fun of him for the sake of making fun of him. They are almost always certain that the other will not notice.
We don’t know if Killnet tried to attack institutional sites without succeeding. We don’t even know if she tried. However, we know that Russian cyberactivists are a piece of propaganda. Who announced that on the 30th they would have buried the Italian network and revealed to the Italian people unspeakable truths hidden by the state, starting with the truth about vaccines for Covid-19. They are looking for banks, consensus, media coverage and set traps. Even if, regardless, I think no one has anything against accepting the proposed salary increase for the men of CSIRT.