Pro-Kremlin nuisance hacking group KillNet temporarily disrupted access to websites of German government agencies, airports and financial institutions in retaliation for Berlin’s decision to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on Wednesday that Germany will supply the advanced battle tank, after weeks of pressure from NATO allies ahead of an anticipated Russian offensive against Ukrainian defenders this spring. Germany will initially deliver 14 Leopard 2 tanks and will allow other countries, such as Poland, to send German-made tanks from their stockpiles. The Leopard 2 is a significant upgrade from the Soviet-era T-72 tanks that have been a mainstay of the Ukrainian army. The United States has also pledged 31 M1A2 Abrams tanks, although U.S. officials have couched the delivery as a long-term commitment rather than an immediate boost to the Ukrainian army.
The German Federal Office for Information Security, known as BSI, told Information Security Media Group that KillNet’s distributed denial-of-service attacks had little effect.
“The BSI has no indications of any direct impact on the respective service and does not expect this to happen if the usual protective measures against DDoS attacks are taken,” a spokesperson said.
