Pro-Ukraine hacker group claims Aeroflot cyber-attack

Pro-Ukraine Hacker Group Claims Aeroflot Cyber-Attack

Attackers Allegedly Supported by Local Government

Anonymous hackers calling themselves "Home Controllers" claimed responsibility for last week's cyberattack on Russian airline Aeroflot. In a communique posted to the Tor network, the group claims to be supporters of Ukraine and alleges that the attack was aided by insiders within the targeted organization.

According to the message, the attackers entered Aeroflot's network through an unprotected router on June 22 and eventually gained access to the company's domain admin account. From there, the hackers claim to have downloaded copies of passenger manifests and other unspecified confidential information. The group alleges that an insider within the company self-identified as a supporter of Ukraine and thus was willing to assist the attackers.

"We got an insider who feels sympathy for the Ukrainian people, so he agreed to help us, the 'Home Controllers,' to make sure that Russian tourists cannot rest calmly either, even though they are not directly involved in the invasion," the group stated.

The hackers claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin has the resources to prevent the attacks, but is choosing not to. The message concludes: "It's only peanuts for Putin to neutralize such attacks, but we don't think he will protect Russians. He prefers to sacrifice ordinary people for the sake of his 'great idea.' "

Security experts at threat intelligence firm Mandiant confirmed the attack's connection with the "Home Controllers" group, stating that the communication's style and content matched known traits of the group. The experts also confirmed that the attack was unrelated to the recent leak of Russian military personnel records.