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A Russian state-owned bank, VTB Bank, announced getting struck with a massive DDoS attack from unknown threat actors, resulting in its website and mobile apps malfunctioning and eventually being taken offline.
The Russian bank’s representative said the unprecedented cyberattack against the company came from another country and was the largest DDoS attack that hit them that has ever been recorded. According to the initial investigation of the incident, the attack is well-orchestrated and intended to cause operational inconvenience and disrupt its services.
VTB’s online portals, including its official website, remain offline. However, the financial institution stated that all its core banking services are operating as normal. Customers are also assured that their data are well-secured in VTB Bank’s internal perimeter infrastructure, which any intruders have not accessed.
Besides overseas DDoS attacks, VTB Bank also detected traffic flooding from Russian IP addresses.
The bank’s investigations also revealed that several Russian IP addresses are involved in the malicious traffic flooding against their online portals, aside from the attacks from other countries. This finding could imply that the foreign threat actors are using local proxies or have recruited Russian locals to get involved in the DDoS campaign.
The detected Russian IP addresses have been forwarded to relevant authorities for further investigation.
Meanwhile, reports say that the ‘IT Army of Ukraine,’ a well-known hacktivist group that supports Ukraine against its war with Russia, had claimed to be the perpetrator behind the attack on VTB Bank. This claim has yet to be confirmed, but based on the group’s previous attacks, they have already struck many significant Russian entities, including the Central Bank of Russia.
On December 1, VTB tried to downplay the incident, as customers started posting online about their difficulties accessing the bank’s online portals. However, now that its service disruption has become more evident to all entities attempting to access their sites, VTB Bank finally admitted to addressing problems about a DDoS attack.
