Ukraine cyber-conflict: Hacking groups promise to end the cyberwar in Ukraine

The two biggest hacktivist groups involved in the Ukraine conflict have promised to reduce their cyber-attacks and follow new rules set by a war watchdog organization.

On Wednesday, the Red Cross made a list of rules for civilian hackers.

It was called the “Geneva Code of cyber-war”, but at first people said it wouldn’t work.

However, right now hackers from Ukraine and Russia are saying that they will follow the guidelines.

Since Ukraine was invaded, there have been many cyber-attacks that have disrupted public services in both Ukraine and Russia, causing different levels of damage.

Hacktivist groups have been using basic methods of cyber-attack, but they have managed to temporarily disrupt banks, companies, pharmacies, hospitals, railway networks, and government services for citizens of Ukraine and Russia.

Hacktivists on both sides have been enjoying causing problems for regular people because there aren’t many easy targets in the government or military. They often gather angry messages from people who have been affected by their attacks on social media.

Hacker groups promise to follow the ICRC rules, so they won’t harm innocent people with cyber-attacks.

Talking to the BBC, the head of the well-known pro-Russian hacking group Killnet stated that he agrees to the conditions and regulations set by the Red Cross. This is considered as Killnet’s first move towards achieving peace.

Killmilk, also known as Killnet’s founder, created a Telegram group right after his country was invaded. Currently, he has 90,000 people following his group.

Killmilk has shared videos of himself peeing on the flags of Ukraine and Nato. The group he belongs to has been known for frequently causing small disturbances and attacking Ukrainian targets.
The group has been accused of being closely connected to the Kremlin, but they have always said that this is not true.

In April, the National Cyber Security Centre in the UK warned that groups like Killnet are a new threat to Ukraine and its allies. They also told UK businesses that these groups are increasingly launching attacks.

If Killnet does what it promised, then the cyber-attacks on civilian targets will stop, including those of Ukraine’s friends.

The IT Army of Ukraine also mentioned that it will obey the ICRC’s eight guidelines.

The group, which has 160,000 people on its Telegram channel, also goes after public services like trains and banks.

The group’s spokesperson said they will try their best to follow the rules, even though it might put them at a disadvantage compared to their opponents. The spokesperson also mentioned that attacking healthcare targets has always been deeply unacceptable.

This news suggests that there might be a big decrease in the number of cyber attacks since groups will focus on attacking only official or military targets.

However, other hacktivist groups supporting different patriotic or ethical causes worldwide informed the BBC that they would not comply with the rules in any way.

The ICRC made eight rules to stop the chaos that has gotten worse during the cyber conflict in Ukraine. They said that many people are joining cyber-gangs that support their country, which is something that has not happened before.