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Government institutions were the main focus of the widespread hacking campaign that disrupted websites across Australia last month.
Hacktivists were responsible for more than 60 attacks on Australian organisations and their websites last month, causing widespread disruption.
The attacks began on 1 November, with several a day happening at times throughout the month.
Activity peaked on 25 November, when six victims were targeted, with many more occurring in the following days, with the highest number of attacks occurring on 30 November, when 13 organisations were attacked.
Forty-one per cent of those attacks were aimed at government institutions, but other sectors targeted included legal services, hospitality, and business services. Thirty-nine websites and organisations were attacked.
The bulk of the attacks were carried out by hacking group NoName057(16), alongside the Cyber Army of Russia Reborn and Z-Pentest. These groups targeted victims’ websites with distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, taking several offline for a considerable amount of time, including the Coroners Court of Victoria and the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Other victims included the city of Palmerston in the Northern Territory, the Australian Industry and Defence Network, and the Housing Industry Association.
Z-Pentest also claimed to have breached the operational technology environment of a Victorian sewage pumping station and the cooling system of an NSW vegetable warehouse.
These groups – all pro-Russian – were motivated in part by the recent donation of 14 rigid hull boats to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, worth $14 million.
“The participation of allied groups such as the Cyber Army of Russia Reborn and Z-Pentest further underscores the coordinated and multifaceted nature of the pro-Russian hacktivist community,” researchers at cyber security firm Radware said in a blog post on the activity.
“These groups amplify the reach and intensity of campaigns, targeting both high-profile and smaller-scale systems to showcase a broad spectrum of capabilities. This strategy creates a perception of widespread vulnerability while leveraging the publicity generated to reinforce their political narrative.”
Other groups, however, were motivated by Australia’s backing of Israel. Of the attacks, 34.4 per cent were carried out by pro-Palestinian hacktivists RipperSec, supported by the People’s Cyber Army and Pro-Palestinian Hacker Movement. The hackers claimed to also be attacking Ukraine for its support for Israel.
According to Radware, the hacktivists have declared two hacking operations: #OpsAustralia and #OpsUkraine. These campaigns emphasise a “plan for a prolonged series of attacks, designed to destabilise and intimidate their targets”.
“Their threats to ‘destroy’ systems highlight the psychological aspect of their campaign, aiming to instil fear among governments, organisations, and citizens of the targeted nations. This rhetoric, combined with their operational focus, demonstrates their belief in cyber attacks as an effective means of political and ideological influence,” it said.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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