Thanks to an unprecedented mobilization of the public, the Kalush Orchestra group won Eurovision 2022 for Ukraine on Saturday May 14. The next day the Italian police, the event took place in Turin, revealed that the party was almost ruined by pro-Russian pirates.
Eurovision under the sign of war
Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine exulted “ Our courage impresses the world, our music conquers Europe! “, after the victory of his country. Unsurprisingly, the shadow of war with Russia hung over the whole evening when many bet on the victory of Ukraine.
OpenSea promises to strengthen the security of its platform
Russia, itself, was excluded from the competition. That was enough to mark the competition as a target for the prolific pro-Russian hacker group Killnet and its Legion affiliate.
On May 15, the Italian police revealed that they had to activate an operating room to provide cyber defense for the event. She said on social media that she ” neutralize and repel attacks », thanks to the help of the local equivalent of ANSSI, the National Center for the Fight against Cybercrime (CNAIPIC).
Sventati attacchi informatici da #PoliziadiStato has @Eurovision
Gli hacker hanno provato a infiltrarsi ma l’attivazione di una sala operativa h24 dedicata all’evento con personale #CNAIPIC said #PoliziaPostale ha permesso di neutralizzare e respingere gli attacchi #essercisempre pic.twitter.com/t4fKqaUKJH— Polizia di Stato (@poliziadistato) May 15, 2022
Reuters reports that cyberattacks were launched during the final, the weekend, but also during the semi-finals on Tuesday May 10. They concentrated during votes and performances. The same group also launched an attack on several Italian institutions, including the Senate.
Pro-Russian hackers failed to actually disrupt the event
The authorities managed to recover information on the very popular Telegram group of Killnet, close to 60,000 subscribers, in order to anticipate the targets of the pirates. They also claim to have located them geographically.
The party actually went off without any noticeable disruptions. The success of Kalush Orchestra with its music Stefania offers the possibility to Ukraine to welcome the next edition on its lands. Volodymyr Zelensky expressed the wish to host the competition ” one day in Mariupol “, a symbolic city where Ukrainian soldiers resist the Russian army which is trying to recover total control.