London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Mar 02, 2026

Ukraine cyberattack is largest of its kind in country's history, says official

Ukraine cyberattack is largest of its kind in country's history, says official

A high-volume cyberattack that temporarily blocked access to the websites of Ukrainian defense agencies and banks on Tuesday was "the largest [such attack] in the history of Ukraine," according to a government minister.

Speaking at a press conference Wednesday, Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov added that it is too early to tell who was responsible for the attack.

The so-called distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack -- which bombarded Ukrainian websites with phony traffic -- was coordinated and well planned, officials said.

DDoS attacks often disrupt access to IT systems, but their impact can be more psychological rather than having any direct effect on a country's critical infrastructure.

While down for parts of Tuesday, the websites of Ukraine's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces, and those of two prominent banks, were back up Wednesday, according to CNN journalists in Ukraine. The DDoS attack, however, is ongoing, Ukrainian officials said.

The incident comes as Russia has massed an estimated 150,000 troops close to Ukraine's border, according to US President Joe Biden, and as US officials warn that a fresh Russian invasion could come at any time. Russia has denied it is planning to invade Ukraine.

The US government is investigating the cyberattack on Ukrainian websites, a top State Department official said Wednesday, while suggesting that Russia has a history of carrying out such hacks.

"But who is best at this, who uses this weapon all around the world? Obviously, the Kremlin," Undersecretary of State Toria Nuland said on CBS This Morning.

"While we're still investigating and doing forensics along with the Ukrainians, I think what's most important is that these cyberattacks were not very successful," Nuland said. She credited Ukrainian officials for responding quickly and helping the websites recover.

Internet traffic hitting Ukrainian websites during the DDoS attack was "three orders of magnitude more than regularly observed traffic," according to data collected by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.

Ninety-nine percent of the traffic involved a type of digital request to computer servers, "indicating the attackers were attempting to overwhelm Ukrainian servers," said Adam Meyers, CrowdStrike's senior vice president of intelligence.

A Ukrainian intelligence report recently obtained by CNN pointed to Russia's effort to destabilize "Ukraine's internal situation by using economic, energy, information, cyber, social, ethnic, and other tools."

Ukraine has concluded that Russia and Belarus were responsible for a separate cyberattack that hit government websites last month.

"As a result of a massive hacker attack on the night of January 14, 2022, the web pages of the Government of Ukraine" were shut down. The attacks were carried out by a group affiliated with the Russian and Belarusian special services," the Ukrainian intelligence report said.

Similarities in the infrastructure used in Tuesday's DDoS attack and the one last month suggest the incidents could be connected, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday.

In mid-January scores of Ukrainian government websites were targeted in a cyberattack with threatening text warning Ukrainians to "be afraid and wait for the worst," and alleging their personal information had been hacked.

Ukraine claimed Russia was most likely behind the attack, which affected the websites of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a number of other government agencies.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Violent Pro-Iranian Protesters Storm U.S. Consulate in Karachi
Missile Debris Sparks Fires at Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port Near Palm Jumeirah
Iran Strikes U.S. Fifth Fleet Headquarters in Bahrain Amid Wider Gulf Retaliation
When the State Replaces the Parent: How Gender Policy Is Redefining Custody and Coercion
Bill Clinton Denies Knowing Woman in Hot Tub Photo During Closed-Door Epstein Deposition
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton Testifies on Ties to Jeffrey Epstein Before Congressional Oversight Committee
Dyson Reaches Settlement in Landmark UK Forced Labour Case
Barclays and Jefferies Shares Fall After UK Mortgage Lender Collapse Rekindles Credit Market Concerns
Play Exploring Donald Trump’s Rise to Power by ‘Lehman Trilogy’ Author to Premiere in the UK
Man Arrested After Churchill Statue Defaced in Central London
Keir Starmer Faces Political Setback as Labour Finishes Third in High-Profile By-Election
UK Assisted Dying Bill Set to Fall Short in Parliament as Regional Initiatives Gain Ground
UK Defence Ministry Clarifies Position After Reports of Imminent Helicopter Contract
Independent Left-Wing Plumber Secures Shock Victory as Greens Surge in UK By-Election
Reform UK Refers Alleged ‘Family Voting’ Incidents in By-Election to Police
United Kingdom Temporarily Withdraws Embassy Staff from Iran Amid Heightened Regional Tensions
UK Government Reaches Framework Agreement on Release of Mandelson Vetting Files
UK Police Contracts With Israeli Surveillance Firms Spark Debate Over Ethics and Oversight
United Airlines Passenger Hears Cockpit Conversations After Accessing In-Flight Audio Channel
Spain to Conduct Border Checks on Gibraltar Arrivals Under New Post-Brexit Framework
Engie Shares Jump After $14 Billion Agreement to Acquire UK Power Grid Assets
BNP Paribas Overtakes Goldman Sachs in UK Investment Banking League Tables
Geothermal Project to Power Ten Thousand Homes Marks UK Renewable Energy Milestone
UK Visa Grants Drop Nineteen Percent in 2025 as Migration Controls Tighten
Barclays and Jefferies Among Banks Exposed to Collapse of UK Mortgage Lender MFS
UK Asylum Applications Edge Down in 2025 Despite Rise in Small Boat Crossings
Jefferies Reports Significant Exposure After Collapse of UK Lender MFS
FTSE 100 Reaches Fresh Record Highs as Major Share Buybacks and Earnings Lift London Stocks
So, what's happened is, I think, government policy, not just under Labour, but under the Conservatives as well, has driven a lot of small landlords out of business.
Larry Summers, the former U.S. Treasury Secretary, is resigning from Harvard University as fallout continues over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
U.S. stocks ended higher on Wednesday, with the Dow gaining about six-tenths of a percent, the S&P 500 adding eight-tenths of a percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbing roughly one-and-a-quarter percent.
From fears of AI-fuelled unemployment to Big Tech's record investment, this is AI Weekly.
Apple just dropped iOS 26.4.
US Lawmakers Seek Briefing from UK Over Reported Encryption Order Directed at Apple
UK Business Secretary Calls on EU to Remove Trade Barriers Hindering Growth
Legal Pathways for Removing Prince Andrew from Britain’s Line of Succession Examined
PM Netanyahu welcome India PM Narendra Modi to Israel
Shadow Diplomacy: How Harry and Meghan’s Jordan Trip Undermines the Monarchy
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, co-owner of Manchester United, comments on immigration in the UK.
Bill Gates, the UN and the WEF are attempting to construct "a giant digital gulag for all of humanity" via digital ID, CBDCs and vaccine passport infrastructure.
Britain’s Channel Crisis: Paying Billions While the Boats Keep Coming
Downing Street’s Veteran Deception Scandal
UK HealthCare Expands ‘Food as Health’ Initiative Statewide to Tackle Chronic Illness in Kentucky
Leonardo Chief Says UK Set to Decide on New Medium Helicopter Programme
UK Slows Chagos Islands Agreement After Concerns Raised in Washington
European and UK Stock Markets Reach Fresh Highs as Banks and Miners Lead Rally
UK Government Insists Chagos Islands Negotiations Continue After Minister’s ‘Pause’ Remark
No Confirmed Deal for Engie to Acquire UK Power Networks Amid Market Speculation
UK Reaffirms Updated Entry Requirements for Travellers as of February 25, 2026
General Atlantic to sell equity stake in ByteDance, valuing the company at $550 billion
×