Spanish police have arrested three individuals accused of involvement in pro-Russian cyberattacks targeting government institutions and strategic sectors in Spain and other NATO countries, the Civil Guard press service reports
The Civil Guard announced the arrests on 20 July, releasing a video of the operation. According to the law enforcement statement, two suspects were apprehended in Huelva and Seville in southern Spain, while the third was detained in the Balearic Islands.
The individuals were arrested for “cybercrimes with terrorist intentions” related to distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. These attacks overwhelm websites or network resources with malicious traffic, rendering them inaccessible.
According to the statement, the attacks were organized by a Russia-linked hacker group called NoName057(16). The police did not specify the exact targets or the impact of these attacks, but said that they were “directed at government institutions and companies in strategic sectors in countries that have taken a position of support for Ukraine.”
The law enforcement agency reports that the group’s primary activity involved conducting DDoS attacks using “its own proprietary software called DDoSia, which can be used by individuals who support its goals.”
According to the Civil Guard, NoName’s manifesto stated that the hacker group’s mission was to respond to “hostile and openly anti-Russian actions of Western Russophobes.”
In mid-June, Swiss government websites faced a wave of DDoS attacks just before a summit to achieve peace in Ukraine. According to authorities in Bern, NoName057(16) claimed responsibility for this operation, which targeted federal government websites and organizations involved in the Peace Summit.
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