07 December 2023

KillNet launch a new campaign against the United States

The two pro-Russian hacktivist groups KillNet and KillMilk announced on 5 October on their communication channels that they are preparing a large-scale attack and disruption campaign targeting the United States. Targeted are government tax payment sites, state websites in Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky.

This campaign may be the beginning of the anti-American operations announced by killnet in recent months, which are expected to take place after they have gained momentum. An attack on so many computer resources at once will require more manpower and technical power than KillNet's usual operations. It is therefore likely that the group has indeed made the progress it said it would and that its fundraising campaigns have paid off. October may well mark the start of its new operations, which could last for several months, in parallel with Russia's geopolitical statements. These simultaneous attacks, if real, will have a large-scale impact on a large number of states and will therefore be difficult to counter at the federal level. They are therefore likely to have an impact and prevent the government from providing its usual services for an indefinite period of time. Because an attack of this magnitude is resource intensive, it is possible that the attack campaign will be very limited in time.