Mysterious cyber attack disables Dozor

Late wednesday night, an anonymous group of cyberattackers claimed they had struck Dozor, a satellite telecommunications provider with a diverse clientele including oil fields, power lines, russian military units, and the Federal Security Service (FSB). According to a message posted on Telegram, the cyberattack caused partial failure of the satellite terminals, server information was wiped out, and system switches were reset. This resulted in temporary disruption of services to several sectors, among them the Russian Defense Ministry, the northern merchant fleet, the pension fund, and the Bilibino nuclear power plant.

Unexpected targets and associations with russian mercenary group

The assailants also professed to have vandalized four seemingly unrelated russian websites with messages supporting the Wagner private military company. This is a russian mercenary organization that recently received global attention due to its stunning revolt, which for a brief period, appeared to undermine the authority of russian president Vladimir Putin. The attempted coup ceased abruptly, with the group's leadership finding refuge in Belarus, a known russian ally.

Insights on intriguing transnational movements

Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner's leader and founder of the Internet Research Agency, was relocated to Belarus. This move was reportedly facilitated by belarusian president Aleksandr Lukashenko, who advised against Putin's apparent plans to kill Prigozhin for instigating the rebellion. Following the cyberattacks, the vandalized websites displayed the Wagner emblem accompanied by a message regarding the recent upheaval and its outcome, suggesting they had demonstrated their capabilities and won public approval for their actions.

Ramifications and Implications of the Cyberattack

The anonymous hackers proclaimed their responsibility and warned of more cyberattacks in the future. In addition, they uploaded a zip file containing 674 files, including PDFs, images, and documents. The group also shared files ostensibly demonstrating the links between the FSB and Dozor, as well as passwords for Dozor employees to verify interactions with genuine FSB representatives. Doug Madory, the director of internet analysis for Kentik, confirmed that Dozor's internet connection went down around 10 p.m. ET wednesday and is currently inaccessible. Meanwhile, Oleg Shakirov, a cyber policy expert at the Moscow-based PIR Center think tank, expressed skepticism about Wagner's involvement, implying the cyberattack might be an act of Ukrainian "false flag trolling."