The government of Ukraine is looking for volunteers within the underground hacker community to help protect vital infrastructure and undertake cyber espionage operations against Russian troops.
As the Russian army stormed cities across Ukraine, the “call to arms” began appearing on some hacker Telegram channels already yesterday morning, when many citizens fled from Kiev.
“Ukrainian cybercommunity! It's time to get involved in the cyber defense of our country,” says the post which invites hackers and cybersecurity professionals to submit an application via Google Docs. The requests also include those on specific areas of expertise such as the creation of malware, and professional references.
War hacker
A senior Defense Ministry official contacted Yegor Aushev, the co-founder of a Kiev cybersecurity company, and asked him to publish the article. Cyber Unit Technologies, the company managed by Yegor Aushev, specializes in the protection of critical infrastructure for the Ukrainian government.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense declined to comment.
Aushev added a few details, however: the volunteer hackers, he says, will be divided into defensive and offensive computer units. The former will be used to defend vital structures such as power plants and water systems. In a 2015 cyber assault, for which hackers funded by the Russian government are suspected, more than 225.000 Ukrainians were left without electricity.
The offensive units that Aushev is organizing will help the Ukrainian army conduct espionage operations to learn about the movements of the Russian army.
Virus attack
On Wednesday, a recently discovered computer virus has already wreaked havoc in the country: the Reuters report said the 'victims' included government organizations and a bank. Russia has denied the allegations.
Ukraine seems taken aback not only by the Russian military offensive, but also by the cyber offensive: according to the empire, the country did not have any military cyber force dedicated. The recruitment of hackers is late, but necessary: the adhesions of hundreds of candidates prove it.
