A hacking group with pro-Russian affiliations has claimed responsibility for a series of cyberattacks on Italian banks, businesses, and government agencies. The attacks, conducted through Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) methods, flooded networks and disrupted services. The group, know n as NoName057(16), targeted at least five banks, including Italy’s largest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo.
In addition to the banks, NoName057(16) also claimed to have hacked the websites of an Italian water supply company, a national business newspaper, and a public transport website, all of which remained inaccessible at the time of reporting.
The attacks are believed to be geopolitically motivated, as the hackers expressed displeasure with Italian government officials for supporting Ukraine and referred to them as “Russophobes” in a Telegram post prior to the attacks.
NoName057(16) has a history of targeting Ukraine and its allies, and they predominantly operate through the messaging platform Telegram. While their DDoS attacks cause short-lived disruptions with limited wider consequences, they continue to pose a significant cybersecurity threat.
Using a DDoS attack toolkit called DDoSia, the group has carried out similar attacks on government agencies, media, and private companies in various European countries, including Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine. Italy’s active engagement in supporting Ukraine and making public declarations against Russia likely contributes to the country being a target of such cyber attacks.