Russian Hackers Disable Viasat Satellites One Hour Before Ukraine Invasion
Russian government hackers launch a destructive cyberattack against American satellite company Viasat just an hour before the physical invasion of Ukraine, crippling military communications.
Russian government hackers target American satellite company Viasat exactly one hour before troops invade Ukraine, according to officials from the US, EU, and UK. The operation causes an immediate and significant loss of communication for the Ukrainian military, which relies heavily on Viasat's services for command and control. Experts consider this the largest known hack of the war because it represents the most concerted effort to disable Ukrainian military capabilities.
The attack utilizes a destructive "wiper" malware strain known as AcidRain, which completely erases all data on Viasat modems and routers before permanently disabling the machines. Thousands of terminals are effectively destroyed in this manner. Unlike previous narrowly targeted Russian malware, AcidRain lacks safety checks and acts as a brute-force, all-purpose weapon that raises serious concerns about future supply-chain attacks.
This cyberoperation exemplifies the "hybrid" war strategy employed by Moscow, as it launches in perfect concert with the physical ground invasion. Research from Microsoft indicates that this exact kind of coordination between Russian cyber operations and military forces occurs at least six times, highlighting the emerging and critical role of cyberattacks in modern warfare.