These 'hacktivists' are actively targeting businesses to further their interests - those backing Moscow have been posing a threat to Western states as well as the operations and reputation of organisations.
It does not appear to be a priority concern for businesses, leaving them exposed to attacks in what is a rapidly evolving threat landscape.
Hacktivist groups, both current and past, have sought to cause nuisance and disruption to both governments and corporations, in line with their ideological goals.
Many corporate cyber teams do not appear to be looking at these threat groups as seriously as they should, putting their companies on the back foot, across a range of geographies.
Real-world events - politics, war, sanctions - arguably exert the biggest influence over the tactics and techniques employed by hacktivists.
Ukraine's volunteer 'cyber army' has impacted key Russian sectors, while pro-Russia groups have launched widespread DDoS attack campaigns against European states over their support for Ukraine.
While most pro-Russia hacktivist groups stalking corporations do not appear to be capable of inflicting significant damage or major financial loss, they nonetheless present a persistent disruptive threat.
As a way of boosting their profile, hacktivists have also turned to brazen, coercive tactics and threats to pressure their victims.
This summer, the hacktivist group 'Anonymous Sudan', which supports Russia, claimed responsibility for DDoS attacks against a major European airline and Microsoft365 services.
The prolific pro-Russian 'Killnet' collective has escalated its threats, warning of physical attacks of a target organisation.
States' leveraging of hacktivists complicates the threat to businesses.
There has been growing evidence of collusion between the Russian state and pro-Russia groups since the Ukraine war broke out in February 2022.
An unverified, leaked US intelligence report this year revealed coordination between a pro-Russia hacktivist group and the Russian FSB domestic security service in an operation that could potentially have damaged a Canadian gas facility.
Many corporations do not have a sense of the hacktivist threat they face until they have been targeted.
With a greater understanding of the geopolitical landscape, cybersecurity teams would be better equipped to identify and track developments or indicators that might place their organisation in hacktivist crosshairs.
A whole series of events during the Ukraine war have sparked a near-immediate response by pro-Russia hacktivists.
Regarding the latter, pro-Russia hacktivists will almost certainly see the upcoming Polish elections on 15 October as a prime opportunity to strike at entities and companies there.
All the evidence suggests that the hacktivist menace is not going to go away anytime soon.
Having the capacity to forecast real-world risks - such as revolution, insurrection, and war - and simultaneously identify ensuing cyber threats will increasingly become critical to the protection of organisations.
He has several years of experience in helping organisations anticipate geopolitical risks globally, including topics on how real-world events impact the cyber threat landscape.
This Cyber News was published on www.cyberdefensemagazine.com. Publication date: Mon, 15 Jan 2024 06:13:04 +0000