UWC and Unite With Ukraine repel cyberattack from Russia, China, and Iran

Pro-Russian hackers executed a large-scale DDoS attack on the websites of the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) and its Unite with Ukraine initiative on Nov. 1. The attackers attempted to flood their servers with internet traffic to disrupt the website operations of these online resources.

The cybercrime, known as a “distributed denial-of-service attack,” began at around 9 a.m. Kyiv time, and within a few hours, the volume of requests surged to over 12 million. Analysts from the UWC identified Russia, China, and Iran as the primary sources of this cyberattack.

The technical team of the websites successfully repulsed the threat and restored the site’s functionality.

The regime of Vladimir Putin, with the support of Russia’s allies – Iran, China, North Korea, and several other authoritarian satellite states – is utilizing a vast network of hackers, criminal groups, and so-called “troll factories” to conduct a systematic cyberwar against Ukrainian and Western information resources that “tell the world the truth about Russia’s genocidal aggression against Ukraine and Moscow’s hostile intentions towards the broader democratic global community,” says Tymish Martynenko-Kushliansky, UWC’s Policy Advisor.

“They aim to plunge the world into a darkness of their own propaganda, disinformation, and distorted reality,” he said. “Despite any pressure or obstacles, the Ukrainian World Congress will continue to be the voice of truth for millions of Ukrainians worldwide. We cannot be stopped or intimidated.” 

This attack underscores the increasing threat that authoritarian regimes pose as they continuously attempt to destabilize the operations of Ukrainian civil organizations. 

The websites of the UWC offer vital resources. They provide information on significant events, materials for global advocacy campaigns, and a convenient donation system to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In a similar case that took place in July 2023, malicious actors created a replica of the English version of the UWC website. 

Posing as resources for the NATO Summit intended for Ukrainian communities worldwide, they distributed harmful files. The BlackBerry Research & Intelligence Team identified two malicious documents sent from an IP address in Hungary.

The UWC urges users to access only the official website and to stay updated through its official social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram. Readers can also get the group’s daily news digest delivered to their inbox by subscribing for free here.