In 2024, Ukraine suffered more than 4,300 cyberattacks, which became the next step in the strengthening of cyberwar, which Russia is actively waging. According to the State Special Communications Service, the number of cyberattacks increased by 70% compared to the previous year, which indicates the activation of criminals in cyberspace.
Critical infrastructure, including energy, government agencies, security agencies, and telecommunications, have become the main targets of hackers. The purpose of the attacks is to steal sensitive information and destroy data of strategic importance for the country's defense capabilities.
Hackers pay special attention to information about the plans of the defense forces of Ukraine, data of the defense-industrial complex, government decisions and operations that contribute to the support of the Armed Forces. The main attack methods are mass mailings of malware and phishing emails.
According to forecasts of CERT-UA, the government's cyber incident response team, the threat of cyber attacks will only increase in 2025. Russia continues to use cyber warfare as a tool to destabilize Ukraine.
It should be noted that on December 19, 2024, Ukraine experienced one of the largest cyber attacks on state registers. Russian hackers, who claimed responsibility for the attack, said they had destroyed all the data they were able to access, including backups on servers in Poland. This temporarily suspended the operation of key systems of the Ministry of Justice, creating significant problems for the functioning of state bodies.
