Hacktivism is not something new in the cyber sphere. Activists, with no personal stakes, launch anonymous attacks on countries and organisations, protesting against a country’s actions or policies.

Cybersecurity solutions company Check Point Software Technologies says these decentralised and unstructured groups are typically made up of individuals cooperating in support of a variety of agendas and many groups have an open-door policy for recruitment.

But it seems they are getting organised, acquiring military-grade operations with regards to recruitment and training to meet their hacktivist objectives.

In its annual Security Report, Check Point says hacktivism has become organised, with the boundaries between state cyber-operations and hacktivism becoming blurred.

Russian-Ukrainian ‘cyber’ conflict

Over the last year, and following developments in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the hacktivist ecosystem has matured, in both origins of source and motivations, the report says.

Also read

Up for sale in darknet: Malicious Google Play apps

“Hacktivist groups have tightened up their level of organisation and control, and today you will see them conduct military-like operations including recruitment and training, sharing tools, intelligence and allocation of targets,” Sundar Balasubramanian, Managing Director, Check Point Software Technologies, India & SAARC, says.

For example, following Russian attacks on Ukrainian IT infrastructure at the beginning of the war, an IT movement has been started.

“Through a dedicated Telegram channel, its operators manage more than 3.50 lakh international volunteers in their campaign against Russian targets,” the report says.

Across the border, a Russian-affiliated group was set up with multiple specialised squads that perform attacks and answer to the main commanders. “Most new hacktivist groups have a clear and consistent political ideology that is affiliated with governmental narratives,” it points out.

Others are less politically driven but have nonetheless made their operations more professional and organised through specifically targeted campaigns motivated by social rather than economic objectives.

Focus on India

Across India, cyberattacks continue to rise as the country sees more digital transformation, and scores more people joining the mobile revolution.

“An organisation in India is being attacked on average 2,036 times per week in the last six months, compared to 1,206 attacks per organisation globally,” it says.

“The government and military sector in India is in the top three ‘most heavily attacked by sector’ with 3,326 weekly attacks per organisation in the last six months as against the global average of 1,737 attacks,” the report adds.

The company foresees an increase in attacks in the coming years. A case in point is, a hacktivist group from the Far-east targetted Indian agricultural and educational institutes over an issue related to religion.

Hacktivism is not just about inflicting damage. “All active groups are aware of the importance of media coverage, and they use their communication channels to announce successful attacks and re-publish them to maximise the impact,” the report says.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW