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The pro-Russian hacker collective NoName057 is once again carrying out DDoS cyber attacks on Belgian websites. The group’s Telegram channel links the attacks to yesterday’s meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels. This includes the site of the PPS Science Policy and the Walloon Parliament. The attacks appear to have been averted.
Journalist at HLN
Source: Belga
All NATO defense ministers met on Thursday, including the American Pete Hegseth. “During their meeting, the war criminals confirmed that Ukraine is switching to NATO standards because the Ukrainian armed forces are clearly unable to cope on their own,” the pro-Russian collective said on Telegram on Friday morning. Out of spite, the hackers carry out so-called DDoS attacks.
What is a DDoS attack?
The attacks are annoying, but relatively harmless. In a DDoS attack, servers are “bombarded” with requests, causing them to become overloaded and inaccessible to real users. Hackers cannot steal data this way. This is usually a short-term discomfort.
The hackers have occasionally targeted our country since the end of 2024, often after politically charged meetings or statements by Belgian politicians. Today, the website of the Walloon Parliament and that of the federal science agency BELSPO were affected.
If organizations take the right technical measures, they can relatively easily arm themselves against DDoS attacks, says the Center for Cybersecurity Belgium. The center informs affected organizations and provides tips to improve security. The Belga press agency was also informed of an impending attack.