(Pro)-Russian hackers are constantly disrupting my website. And not just mine...

It's incredibly frustrating that (pro)-Russian hackers are regularly breaking into the server that also hosts my website. In an average week, my website andrasnn.com is inaccessible for a few hours about ten times. Last Sunday (May 27), the website was even inaccessible the entire day.

The server manager and my IT expert confirm that cyberattacks on the server of my website have intensified in recent months. And not just on the server where my website is hosted. OK, now my website is not part of critical IT networks like those of e.g. hospitals. In recent years, many hospitals around the world have been victims of cybercrime. The Netherlands - for example, Erasmus Medical Centre - has also had to deal with this, not to mention universities, newsrooms, defense units, government services, etc. that were under cyber attack. Especially now that the European elections are approaching (and various national and regional elections in a number of EU countries), the Russians have stepped up their criminal cyber activities, and many people and organizations are noticing this on a daily basis…….

Even airline pilots are not immune to cybercrime, for example when flying over Poland. It could just happen that the GPS near the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad indicates that their aircraft is flying over Greenland. GPS jamming of the ’highest standards’! The pro-Russian hacker collective Stormous Group recently attacked the Belgian brewery Duvel Moortgat. A countdown clock on their website indicated how many hours Duvel had left to pay the 'ransom'. If the demanded amount is transferred, the hacker gives the password that 'unlocks' the IT system. Duvel can then start up the bottling machines again. Oh yes, but Duvel still has to pay ransom (again), otherwise the stolen data will be published. And then any brewery can brew Duvel beer based on the published recipe...

The amount of ransoms varies, there are known cases where amounts with more than six zeros have been transferred. But these are - I would say of course - the tip of the iceberg. Why? Government agencies and defense units are careful not to publish successful ransomware attacks, but the same applies to most companies. Admitting that you have been a cybercrime victim does not exactly contribute to the reliability of your commercial activities…

In 2018, the Dutch military intelligence service MIVD foiled a hack attack by the Russian secret service on the OPCW, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague. The Russians, who had set up camp with their equipment next to the building, planned to break into the OPCW's Wi-Fi network. It is highly likely that the Russian agents were looking for information about the investigation into the poisoning of the Russian former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, and for information about the investigation into a chemical weapons attack in the Syrian city of Douma. And for information about the MH-17 disaster, of course...The four Russian intelligence officers who were arrested were immediately expelled from the Netherlands after their arrest. No, unfortunately not imprisoned...

Two-thirds of attacks with so-called ransomware now come from Russia, which proves that the Russians are highly active in worldwide cyber warfare. Shamelessly, they digitally skim the earth and deliberately leave their Russian signature behind. They could easily hide behind other IP addresses, but they don't. Why not? Putin is all too eager to let us know that he is holding digitally a gun to our head. In the case of the Ukrainians, he is doing so literally. While shooting….

And this is just one of the reasons why the 'West' must continue to support Ukraine without reservation. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, it is high time that the Russian Federation suffers the same fate.

Meanwhile, I'm stuck with the consequences. OK, compared to the big hacks on crucial systems, I am just 'small fry'. Until recently, the number of readers of my articles on a month to month basis was increasing steadily. This positive development has stalled in the last 2 months. Understandably, because at some point I would also abandon a news website if I could no longer reach it regularly. But I will persevere and continue unabated. So please keep clicking on my articles/columns! Thank you in advance!!!