IT Army of Ukraine explained

The IT Army of Ukraine (Ukrainian: IT-армія України) is a volunteer cyberwarfare organisation created at the end of February 2022 to fight against digital intrusion of Ukrainian information and cyberspace after the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.^[3] The group also conducts offensive cyberwarfare operations, and Chief of Head of State Special Communications Service of Ukraine Victor Zhora said its enlisted hackers would only attack military targets.^[4]

Formation

On 26 February 2022, the Minister of Digital Transformation and First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov announced the creation of the IT Army, which is mainly coordinating its efforts via Telegram and Twitter.^{[5] [6]}

According to Reuters, the Ukrainian government asked for volunteers from the country's hacker underground to help protect critical infrastructure and conduct cyber spying missions against Russian troops. Yegor Aushev, the co-founder of a Ukrainian cybersecurity firm Hacken,^[7] wrote, "Ukrainian cybercommunity! It's time to get involved in the cyber defense of our country," asking hackers and cybersecurity experts to submit an application listing their specialties, such as malware development and professional references.^[8]

Furthermore, the Ukrainian government broadcast a global call for the participation hackers, hacktivists, and regular computers users alike, the first time a nation-state has done so –and thus further shaping cyberwarfare doctrine.^{[9] [10]}

Aims

The volunteers who joined the group are divided into offensive and defensive cyber units. While the offensive volunteer unit would help Ukraine's military conduct digital espionage operations against invading Russian forces, the defensive unit would be employed to defend infrastructure such as power plants and water systems.

The Ukrainian government used Twitter and Telegram to share a list of Russian and Belarusian targets for the army to attack.^[11] As time went on, the dissemination of target information became more structured,^[12] with attacks consisting primarily of denial of service attacks using a variety of open-source tools.^[13] Russian ransomware operators responded by offering their assistance to counter the Ukrainian effort.^[14]

Activities

• Fedorov requested the assistance of cyber specialists and tweeted a Telegram with a list of 31 websites of Russian business and state organizations.^[15]
• On 28 February 2022, the IT Army hacked the website of the Moscow Stock Exchange. The IT Army posted that it had taken them only five minutes to render the website inaccessible.^{[16] [17] [18]}
• On the same day, the IT Army hacked the website of Sberbank, the largest bank in Russia. The IT Army had also launched attacks on other Russian and Belarusian sites, including the government websites of Russia and Belarus, the FSB and the Belarusian state news agency BelTA, among others.^{[19] [20]}
• According to Reuters, the group targets Russian power grids and railways to prevent Russian infrastructure from reaching Ukraine. This included technologies such as GLONASS.
• Eight hundred Russian websites, including Roscosmos, were attacked by the IT Army, from June 27 to July 10. They posted congratulatory messages to Ukrainian Constitution Day on those websites. Besides that, distributed denial of service attacks carried out by the IT army has crippled Russian ability to work on some CRM systems for extended periods.^[21]
• Ministry of Digital Transformation reported about cyberattacks on over 6000 of Russian web resource in the period from February 26 to July 30.^[22]
• In September 2022 the group had reportedly collaborated with Anonymous to commit cyberattack against Yandex Taxi's systems, causing a traffic jam in Moscow.^[23]
• The group claimed to have hacked the website of Wagner group and stolen its personal data. On the defaced website, photos of dead soldiers were shown.^[24]
• On Oct 7th 2022, the IT Army hacked the website of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), through which they congratulated the Russian president on his birthday.^[25]
• In October 2023 they said they would abide by International Committee of the Red Cross rules of engagement for civilian hackers even if it put them at a disadvantage.^[26]

See also

• Russo-Ukrainian cyberwarfare
• Starlink satellite services in Ukraine, the use of SpaceX's large satellite constellation for warfare and communications in Ukraine

Notes and References

1. News: Schectman . Joel . Bing . Christopher . EXCLUSIVE Ukraine calls on hacker underground to defend against Russia . 3 March 2022 . . 25 February 2022.
2. News: Schectman . Joel . Bing . Christopher . Pearson . James . Ukrainian cyber resistance group targets Russian power grid, railways . 3 March 2022 . 2 March 2022.
3. News: Todd . Drew . Anonymous Hacking Group Targets Russian Government . 3 March 2022 . 25 February 2022.
4. Web site: Ukraine cyber official: We only attack military targets . The Independent . 4 March 2022. 2022-03-16.
5. News: Pearson . James . Ukraine launches 'IT army,' takes aim at Russian cyberspace . 3 March 2022 . . 27 February 2022.
6. Web site: Anonymous and IT Army shut down more than 2,400 Russian websites . Fonetech. 13 September 2022 .
7. Web site: 2022-03-10 . Kyiv's hackers seize their wartime moment . 2022-07-12 . POLITICO . en-US.
8. Web site: 2022-02-25 . Russia partially restricts access to Facebook to 'protect Russian media' . 2022-07-12 . the Guardian . en.
9. Web site: Ukraine’s IT army is a world first: here’s why it is an important part of the war. Vasileios. Karagiannopoulos. 25 October 2023. The Conversation. 11 August 2024.
10. Web site: Ukraine’s Volunteer IT Army Confronts Tech, Legal Challenges. David. Kirichenko. 27 November 2023. CEPA. 11 August 2024.
11. News: Is a Russian cyberwar coming? . . 2022-03-07 . 2022-03-16.
12. Web site: Connect the Dots on State-Sponsored Cyber Incidents - Ukrainian IT Army. Council on Foreign Relations. 11 August 2024.
13. Done . William . The Information Technology Army of Ukraine and Cyber Warfare Doctrine . Journal of Strategic Security . 9 December 2023 . 16 . 4 . 15-33 . 10.5038/1944-0472.16.4.2127 . 26 June 2024.
14. Web site: Russian ransomware gang threatens countries that punish Moscow for Ukraine invasion. Politico. 25 February 2022 .
15. Web site: "IT army of Ukraine 2022". Telegram . 3 March 2022.
16. Web site: Uberti . David . Hackers Target Key Russian Websites . 28 February 2022 . The Wall Street Journal.
17. Web site: Coble . Sarah . Moscow Exchange Downed by Cyber-Attack . Infosecurity Group. 28 February 2022 . 3 March 2022.
18. News: "Disabled in 5 minutes": Ukrainians hack Moscow Stock Exchange . 3 March 2022 . 28 February 2022. pravda.com.ua.
19. News: Goodin . Dan . After Ukraine recruits an "IT Army," dozens of Russian sites go dark . 3 March 2022 . arstechnica.com . 1 March 2022.
20. News: Mott . Nathaniel . Ukraine Enlists Hackers in 'IT Army' Targeting Russia, Belarus . 3 March 2022 . pcmag.com . 27 February 2022.
21. Web site: IT army attacks over 800 Russian websites in two weeks - Ministry of Digital Transformation . www.ukrinform.net . 11 July 2022 . 12 July 2022 . en.
22. Web site: За 5 місяців ІТ-армія України вивела з ладу понад 6000 ресурсів рф. 1 August 2022. uk.
23. Web site: L'attacco hacker a un'app di taxi ha gettato Mosca nel caos . Wired Italia . 25 September 2022 . it-IT . 5 September 2022.
24. Web site: Pro-Ukraine Hacktivists Claim to Have Hacked Notorious Russian Mercenary Group . www.vice.com . 20 September 2022 . 25 September 2022 . en.
25. Web site: Ukrainians hacked the site of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (ОДКБ) . Oct 8, 2022 . zoznam.sk. 8 October 2022 .
26. News: Rules of engagement issued to hacktivists after chaos . Tidy . Joe . 2023-10-04 . 2023-10-15 . BBC News.