Eurovision hack plot launched by Russian cyber criminals determined to stop Ukraine from winning
RUSSIAN cyber criminals are plotting to sabotage tomorrow’s Eurovision Song Contest to stop red-hot favourites Ukraine from grabbing the glory.
Fears were rising that pro-Putin hacker gang Killnet would try to paralyse the online voting servers ahead of anticipated support for folk-rap band Kalush Orchestra.
Killnet boasted that it had previously jammed the system with a distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attack and could do so again.
In a sneering message on Telegram emblazoned with a Eurovision logo, it wrote: “You can’t vote online.
“Perhaps our DDOS attack is to blame for everything.”
Russia was banned from the contest after its invasion of Ukraine in February.
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Support for Kalush Orchestra has soared across Europe since and they romped through Tuesday’s semi-final in Turin, Italy.
Founder member Oleh Psiuk thanked the audience and said a win would boost Ukraine.
He said: “For our country it is so important to have victories in all ways.” He said first place would “increase morale” across Ukraine.
Lyrics for their song, Stefania, such as “I will always walk to you by broken roads” have become a rallying cry across the country.
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The song’s success, and support for it, has angered Putin’s followers, including Killnet, which is thought to act for his corrupt regime.
The hackers claimed responsibility for a DDoS attack which crippled government websites in Romania, leading to the arrest of London-based Putin cheerleader Ioan Feher, 23.
Killnet claimed he had nothing to do with their action but threatened to shut down NHS ventilators if he was not released within 48 hours.
Pro-Russia hackers unsuccessfully targeted government websites in Italy on Wednesday.
Italian news sources said an attack on the Eurovision website was thwarted by protective firewalls the day before.
A Eurovision spokesman said the situation was being monitored.
He said: “Every year the Eurovision Song Contest voting system has a wide range of security measures in place to protect the audience participation from outside influences. This year is no different.”
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Killnet posted a further message last night to say the Eurovision voting system was not protected. But it said another attack was “not worth the time”.
Meanwhile, Britain’s Sam Ryder is widely tipped for second place with his song Space Man.
