Ukraine Says Another Sweeping Cyberattack Underway as State Websites and Banks Hit

Residents carry Ukrainian national flag as they gather in the Olympic Stadium to mark the Unity Day, in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 16, 2022. (Reuters)
Residents carry Ukrainian national flag as they gather in the Olympic Stadium to mark the Unity Day, in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 16, 2022. (Reuters)
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Ukraine Says Another Sweeping Cyberattack Underway as State Websites and Banks Hit

Residents carry Ukrainian national flag as they gather in the Olympic Stadium to mark the Unity Day, in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 16, 2022. (Reuters)
Residents carry Ukrainian national flag as they gather in the Olympic Stadium to mark the Unity Day, in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 16, 2022. (Reuters)

The websites of Ukraine's government, foreign ministry and state security service were down on Wednesday in what the government said was the start of another massive denial of service (DDoS) attack that began at around 4 p.m. (1400 GMT).

Ukrainian authorities said this week they had seen online warnings that hackers were preparing to launch major attacks on government agencies, banks and the defense sector.

Ukraine has suffered a string of cyberattacks that Kyiv has blamed on Russia. Moscow, which is caught up in a mounting confrontation with the West over Ukraine, has denied any involvement.

"At about 4 pm, another mass DDoS attack on our state began. We have relevant data from a number of banks," said Mykhailo Fedorov, Minister of Digital Transformation, adding that the parliament website was also hit.

He did not mention which banks were affected and the central bank could not immediately be reached for comment.

The online networks of Ukraine's defense ministry and two banks were overwhelmed last week in a separate cyberattack. The US company Netscout Systems Inc later said the impact had been modest.

Internet blockage observatory NetBlocks posted a tweet on Thursday that showed a drop-off in connections to the Ukrainian government websites.

"We've observed that the current network disruption has partial impact on the network layer to multiple defense and ministerial websites in Ukraine," NetBlocks director Alp Toker told Reuters.

"The spread of outages is similar but distinct from the recent DDOS attack targeting defense and banking platforms, with the latter not impacted in this instance," he added.



Yemen's Houthis Claim Responsibility for Missile Launched at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport

File photo: Departing passengers roll their suitcases at the nearly deserted Ben Gurion airport in Lod, near the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv, May 13, 2021. (AFP)
File photo: Departing passengers roll their suitcases at the nearly deserted Ben Gurion airport in Lod, near the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv, May 13, 2021. (AFP)
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Yemen's Houthis Claim Responsibility for Missile Launched at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport

File photo: Departing passengers roll their suitcases at the nearly deserted Ben Gurion airport in Lod, near the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv, May 13, 2021. (AFP)
File photo: Departing passengers roll their suitcases at the nearly deserted Ben Gurion airport in Lod, near the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv, May 13, 2021. (AFP)

Yemen's Houthis claimed responsibility for a missile launched at Israel's Ben Gurion airport on Sunday, the group's military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a televised statement.
Saree reiterated a warning to airlines that the Israeli airport was "no longer safe for air travel".

A missile launched from Yemen towards Israel landed near Ben Gurion Airport, the country's main international airport, where footage shared on social media showed a plume of smoke visible from a passenger terminal.
The Israeli military said it was investigating the fall of a projectile launched from Yemen, which landed in the vicinity of the airport.
A Reuters reporter at the airport heard sirens and saw passengers reacting by running towards safe rooms.
Several people at the airport posted videos filmed on smartphones that showed a plume of black smoke clearly visible nearby, behind parked aircraft and airport buildings. Reuters has not verified the videos.
The Israeli ambulance service said there were no reports of serious injuries. A man and a woman with light injuries were being taken to hospital and two people were being treated at the scene for the effects of panic.
Airport authorities said the projectile had landed by a road near a Terminal 3 parking lot. One photo shared on social media showed a bend in a road covered in debris.
Yemen's Houthi group have been launching missiles at Israel, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.