Fresh alert warns of pro-Russia hackers targeting UK groups in cyber attacks

A fresh alert over pro-Russia hackers targeting UK organisations with cyber attacks has been issued by security chiefs.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which makes up part of GCHQ, has warned Russian-aligned “hacktivist” groups are seeking to cripple services and disable websites – particularly across critical infrastructure and local government.

UK authorities are being urged to review their defences and ramp up protections against denial of service (Dos) attacks.

This is where hackers can disrupt whole systems and cost organisations significant time and money to recover from them.

NCSC director of national resilience Jonathon Ellison said: “We continue to see Russian-aligned hacktivist groups targeting UK organisations and although denial-of-service attacks may be technically simple, their impact can be significant.

“By overwhelming important websites and online systems, these attacks can prevent people from accessing the essential services they depend on every day.

“All organisations, especially those identified in today’s alert, are urged to act now by reviewing and implementing the NCSC’s freely available guidance to protect against DoS attacks and other cyber threats.”

The alert published on Monday follows an advisory by the NCSC in December last year which flagged pro-Russian hack groups as conducting worldwide cyber attacks against a number of organisations and infrastructure.

The NCSC alert names group NoName057(16) has having attempted frequent DoS attacks against UK local government.

The group has been active since March 2022 operating mainly through Telegram channels and has also been carrying out operations against government and the private sector in Nato member states and European countries seen as hostile to Russian interests.

In 2023, the NCSC also posted an alert on the risk of Russian-aligned groups attacking UK organisations following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The alert added the attacks are ideologically motivated rather than for financial gain.