Cyprus’ critical infrastructure and government websites were targeted in a series of coordinated cyberattacks claimed by several pro-Palestine hacker groups.
The country’s cyber officials reported that most of the attacks were unsuccessful, causing only temporary disruptions to targeted facilities, including banks, airports and government websites.
The first warnings about a potential cyber operation against Cyprus emerged last week, following statements on Telegram and dark web forums from groups such as LulzSec Black, Moroccan Soldiers, Black Maskers Army and Anonymous Syria. The groups claimed they would compromise Cypriot agencies to “punish” the country for its support of Israel.
“This operation was carried out in response to Cyprus’ support for the occupying, usurping entity,” said hackers from the LulzSec Black group, adding in a separate statement that they would stop the attacks if Cyprus changed its position toward Israel and sent food supply planes to the Gaza Strip.
A Cyprus-based cybersecurity firm, Odyssey, confirmed that local government agencies had been on high alert since the hackers’ announcements. The firm added that the attacks appear to be politically motivated.
While Cyprus has taken a neutral position in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, the country has historically supported Israel’s military. In recent years, Israel has used Cypriot territory to train its troops and conducted drills in the country’s airspace. According to recent reports, the U.K. has allegedly used its military bases in Cyprus to supply arms to Israel for its operations in Gaza and southern Lebanon.
It remains unclear what specifically motivated the hackers to target Cyprus or whether they are backed by any state.
Among the affected services were the government’s main online portal, Cyprus’ electricity and telecommunications authorities, the country’s major bank, an oil company and the operator of two local airports. Most reported being hit by distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, though hackers also claimed to have exfiltrated sensitive data.
Hermes, the local airport operator, said it had temporarily taken its website offline as a precaution following the attack, but airport operations were unaffected, except for its online parking reservation service. Local media reported that airport checkpoints and police control systems operated slower than usual last week as systems were upgraded to prevent further threats.
The country’s digital ministry said in a statement on Sunday that the attack on the government’s central online portal caused it to be unavailable for only a few minutes, with no other ministry or government service websites affected. DDoS attacks typically flood targeted sites with junk traffic, making them temporarily unreachable.
George Michaelides, Cyprus’ top cyber official, said that although citizens were not directly impacted, companies should be prepared to repel future attacks quickly and restore services.
In response to the hackers’ latest threats of new attacks, Michaelides said that such announcements aim to create panic.
“There should be no panic; we just have to be prepared,” he added.
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Daryna Antoniuk
is a reporter for Recorded Future News based in Ukraine. She writes about cybersecurity startups, cyberattacks in Eastern Europe and the state of the cyberwar between Ukraine and Russia. She previously was a tech reporter for Forbes Ukraine. Her work has also been published at Sifted, The Kyiv Independent and The Kyiv Post.
