The Italian National Authority for Cybersecurity (ACN) has reported that several major Italian banks have been targeted by distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks carried out by a pro-Russian hacker group known as NoName057(16). The attacks, which began at 5 am ET, impacted at least five banks, including Intesa Sanpaolo, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, BPER Banca, FinecoBank, and Banca Popolare di Sondrio, disrupting their online services and preventing customers from accessing banking facilities. Additionally, the hacker group also named Che Banca and Fideuram as their targets during the 8-hour assault.
Despite the swift assistance provided by ACN to the financial institutions to mitigate the impact, the attacks highlight the vulnerability of critical infrastructure and institutions to cyber threats.
The DDoS attacks on the Italian banks represent a broader pattern of cyber aggression against the country. The pro-Russian hackers began targeting Italy and its transportation sector on July 31st, reportedly in response to a meeting between Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and US President Joe Biden, where they discussed the war in Ukraine and showed support for Ukrainian President Zelensky’s government. The attacks on the banks underscore the interconnected nature of cybersecurity and geopolitics, with hackers leveraging digital means to express their displeasure over political events.
DDoS attacks remain a potent weapon in the cybercriminal arsenal, seeking to overwhelm a network with excessive data traffic and causing temporary outages. Though the targeted banks managed to restore their services relatively quickly, such attacks can lead to significant financial losses, reputational damage, and erode customer trust.
It emphasizes the importance of robust cybersecurity measures and rapid response protocols for financial institutions and critical infrastructure entities to counter cyber threats effectively.
