Several websites belonging to Belgian provinces and cities were out of action for a while this morning due to a cyber-attack, a so-called DDoS attack. The websites of the provinces of Limburg and East Flanders and those of the cities of Brussels and Liège were all targeted. In the meantime, most websites are back online, says the Belgian Centre for Cyber Security.
Pro-Russian group launches cyber-attack on Belgian cities and provinces
Colin Clapson
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Updated:
Several government websites were inaccessible for a while this morning. They included the website of the Chamber of Representatives, the lower house of the Belgian parliament, the Walloon government, the City of Antwerp and the provinces of Limburg and Flemish Brabant. Exactly how many websites went offline and for how long is unclear. According to the Centre for Cybersecurity, most are now back online.
Posts on social media channel Telegram suggest that this was an attack by a Russian collective. The group tries to take websites offline by sending massive amounts of internet traffic to them and overloading the website. The collective is known as ‘NoName’ and says it is targeting all allies of Ukraine.
Response to Belgian guns for Ukraine
The attackers’ goal is not to steal (personal) data, but to disrupt systems. Earlier this year, federal government departments were the victims of such an attack that lasted almost a day. Russian collectives have been targeting several European countries supporting Ukraine in recent years.
Today’s attack is said to be in response to Belgium’s promise to buy 3 so-called Caesar guns and donate them to Ukraine. Outgoing defence minister Ludivine Dedonder (Francophone socialist/PS) announced the news last week.
In the post claiming responsibility NoName also refers to next Sunday's municipal and provincial elections. It is possible that this is why it is targeting the websites of Belgian provinces and municipalities.