Major Russian Internet Provider ASVT Hit by Cyberattack, Blames Ukraine’s IT Army

A major internet provider in Russia, ASVT, has been hit by a large cyberattack that disrupted internet services in Moscow and nearby areas starting Tuesday. The company said the attack was a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack, which floods a network with traffic and makes it hard for users to connect to the internet.

ASVT is working with Russia’s communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, to fix the issue and restore internet access. The company believes the attack was carried out by Ukraine’s IT Army, a hacktivist group that has targeted Russian systems in the past.

This isn’t the first time Russian internet services have been affected by cyberattacks. In March, another internet provider called Lovit said that a similar attack had cut off internet access for 200,000 people in Moscow and St. Petersburg. That attack was also claimed by the IT Army.

Cyberattacks on Russian telecom companies have been increasing since the war between Russia and Ukraine began. Other major providers like Nodex and Rostelecom have also been targeted. Two Ukrainian hacking groups, the Ukrainian Cyber Alliance and Silent Crow, have claimed responsibility for some of those attacks.

The ongoing cyber warfare highlights the growing digital front in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, where both sides are using hacking as a tool to disrupt each other’s infrastructure.