KillNet

Threat Actor updated 4 days ago (2024-09-10T13:17:50.343Z)

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Killnet is a pro-Russian threat actor group that has gained notoriety for its disruptive cyber-attacks on various government entities. The group's activities peaked in July 2022 when it targeted multiple government resources in Poland, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Senate, Border Control, and the Police. More recently, Killnet claimed responsibility for the paralysis of an Israeli government website and the Shin Bet security agency's site, further demonstrating its growing capabilities. The group also expressed support for the Kremlin, aligning with other hacker groups like ransomware operator Conti. The actions of Killnet have been linked to Russia's geopolitical circumstances, specifically the country's ban from the 2022 FIFA World Cup due to its war against Ukraine and strained relations with Qatar. It's suggested that the Russian government may tacitly approve or even encourage these disruptive attacks conducted by nationalistic hacktivist groups like Killnet. These groups serve as useful proxies, furthering the Russian government's strategic objectives while providing plausible deniability. Notably, Killnet's methods are evolving. In 2023, application attacks, such as HTTP/HTTPS attacks from groups like Killnet, rose by 79% YoY, making up 25% of DDoS attacks. However, there is skepticism about the actual impact of these attacks. Despite the volume of claims made by groups like Killnet, many are considered false, misleading, or exaggerated, often aimed at gaining notoriety or feeding their ego. Nonetheless, the group's activities continue to pose significant cybersecurity threats, necessitating vigilance and robust defense strategies.

Description last updated: 2024-09-10T13:15:44.471Z

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Possible Aliases / Cluster overlaps

It's hard to track cluster overlaps and naming conventions between vendors, so here are some possible overlapping names / profiles you also may want to look at.

ID	Votes	Profile Description
Killmilk	6	KillMilk, a threat actor and leader of the hacking group Killnet, has been identified as Nikolai Serafimov, a 30-year-old Russian citizen. KillMilk has been instrumental in consolidating Russian hacktivist groups under Killnet's leadership, amassing a following of 8,000 members on his personal Teleg
Black Listing	4	Black Listing, a threat actor group also known as Killnet, emerged in the cybersecurity landscape with malicious intent. This group has been particularly active since late 2022 and early 2023, when they partnered with Deanon Club to conduct Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against severa

Miscellaneous Associations

Other elements of context that could aid in the identification of relevance

Ddos

Russia

Denial of Se...

denial-of-se...

Ransomware

Ukraine

Sudan

Proxy

Botnet

russian

Cybercrime

Healthcare

Azure

Nato

Israel

Mandiant

Hacktivist

Germany

State Sponso...

Malware

Exploit

Health

European

Extortion

Analyst Notes & Discussion

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Associated Malware

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ID	Type	Votes	Profile Description
Conti	Unspecified	3	Conti is a notorious malware and ransomware operation that has caused significant damage to computer systems worldwide. The Conti group, believed to have around 200 employees, operated like a regular business, with internal communications revealing the organization's structure and operations. It was
REvil	Unspecified	3	REvil is a type of malware, specifically ransomware, that has been linked to significant cyber attacks. It emerged as part of the Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) model that gained popularity in 2020. This model established relationships between first-stage malware and subsequent ransomware attacks, s

Associated Threat Actors

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ID	Type	Votes	Profile Description
Anonymous Sudan	is related to	6	Anonymous Sudan, a threat actor group known for its malicious activities, has been actively involved in promoting a new Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) botnet service named “Skynet-GodzillaBotnet” as of February 26, 2024. The group is recognized for its previous DDoS attacks on the encrypted me
Black Skills	is related to	4	Black Skills is a newly established Private Military Hacking Company (PMHC), announced by Killmilk, the leader of the Russian hacktivist collective Killnet, on March 13, 2023. The initiative, launched via Telegram, appears to be an effort by Killnet to establish itself as a corporate entity and furt
Cyber Army of Russia	is related to	3	The Cyber Army of Russia, a prominent threat actor group, has been involved in numerous cyber attacks since 2022. This pro-Russian hacking collective, also known as the Cyber Army of Russia Reborn (CARR), has been linked to low-impact distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against entities in
XakNet	is related to	3	XakNet is a notable threat actor, potentially aligned with Russian interests, that has been implicated in various cyber attacks. This group emerged prominently during Russia's conflict with Ukraine and the subsequent ban on Russia from the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The Russian government was suspected of
Anonymous Russia	Unspecified	3	Anonymous Russia, a malicious software (malware), has been associated with significant cyber-attacks, accounting for more than 30% of such incidents. This malware is affiliated with other hacktivist groups including Killnet, MIRAI, Venom, and has been involved in promoting Passion. Anonymous Russia,
Infinity Forum	is related to	2	Infinity Forum is a threat actor group associated with Killnet and its allies. Established as a project to raise funds for these groups, it serves a dual purpose: expanding their capabilities and numbers while also facilitating the interaction between novice hacktivists and financially driven cyberc
NoName057	Unspecified	2	NoName057 is a threat actor group known for its pro-Russian stance and execution of cyber-attacks with political motivations. In August 2023, the group made headlines when it launched Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against multiple Czech banks and the Czech stock exchange. These attack
Deanon Club	Unspecified	2	Deanon Club, a threat actor group, emerged as a significant entity in the cybersecurity landscape through its collaborations with Killnet, another threat actor group. The two groups have been involved in multiple malicious activities, including distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on several
Siegedsec	Unspecified	2	SiegedSec, a threat actor or hacking group, has recently come under investigation by NATO due to their involvement in a series of cyber attacks. The group has claimed responsibility for these attacks, which have targeted multiple entities and have raised significant concerns about cybersecurity on a

Source Document References

Information about the KillNet Threat Actor was read from the documents corpus below. This display is limited to 20 results, create a free account to see more

Source Link	CreatedAt	Title
Securityaffairs	4 days ago	Poland thwarted cyberattacks that were carried out by Russia and Belarus
DARKReading	a month ago	Pro-Palestinian Actor Levels 6-Day DDoS Attack on UAE Bank
ESET	3 months ago	Hacktivism is evolving – and that could be bad news for organizations everywhere
RIA - Information System Authority	3 months ago	Trends and Challenges in Cyber Security – Q1 2022
Securityaffairs	4 months ago	Pro-Russia hackers targeted Kosovo government websites
DARKReading	4 months ago	87% of DDoS Attacks Targeted Windows OS Devices in 2023
InfoSecurity-magazine	4 months ago	RSAC: Threat Actors Weaponize Hacktivism for Financial Gain
InfoSecurity-magazine	4 months ago	Hackers Target New NATO Member Sweden with Surge of DDoS Attacks
DARKReading	5 months ago	How Nation-State DDoS Attacks Impact Us All
InfoSecurity-magazine	6 months ago	US Government Releases New DDoS Attack Guidance for Public Sector
CERT-EU	6 months ago	French Government Suffers Severe Cyber Attacks
CERT-EU	6 months ago	Cyber Attack on France government websites - Cybersecurity Insiders
CERT-EU	6 months ago	Operational Technology Threats - ReliaQuest
Securityaffairs	6 months ago	National intelligence agency of Moldova warns of Russia attacks ahead of the presidential election
CERT-EU	7 months ago	Down, Not Out: Russian Hacktivists Claiming DDoS Disruptions
BankInfoSecurity	7 months ago	Down, Not Out: Russian Hacktivists Claiming DDoS Disruptions
BankInfoSecurity	8 months ago	Swiss Government Reports Nuisance-Level DDoS Disruptions
CERT-EU	8 months ago	How Ukraine built a volunteer IT army from scratch \| #hacking \| #cybersecurity \| #infosec \| #comptia \| #pentest \| #hacker \| National Cyber Security Consulting
CERT-EU	8 months ago	British Cosmetics Retailer Lush Investigating Cyber Attack \| #hacking \| #cybersecurity \| #infosec \| #comptia \| #pentest \| #ransomware \| National Cyber Security Consulting
DARKReading	8 months ago	Who Is Behind Pro-Ukrainian Cyberattacks on Iran?