Mark Colaluca, vice president and chief information security officer at Viasat Corporate, claims that the cyberattack that disrupted satellite communications on the eve of the Ukraine war was carried out by attackers who had in-depth knowledge of the compromised system and was more extensive than first thought, CyberScoop reports.
Hackers gained access to Viasat's computer system that was used to communicate with the modems dispersed throughout Europe and the Middle East, and sent a piece of malware called Acid Rain that rendered 40,000 to 45,000 modems useless as Russian soldiers were about to cross the border into Ukraine.
According to Colaluca, the company is still under attack and the second phase of the attack "targeted specific terminals to not let them back on the network" by using "highly technical knowledge of their network" and the networking protocols it depends on.
The attack on Viasat served as a warning that cyber operations will be crucial in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Critical Infrastructure Security, Threat Intelligence
Viasat executive finds satellite attack to be more intricate than first believed
SC Staff
Get daily email updates
SC Media's daily must-read of the most current and pressing daily news