Melilla cyber attack points to a Russian cybercriminal group

On June 25 we echoed the news: the Autonomous City of Melilla indicated that, since Sunday 22 of this month, Its computer services were interrupted by a technical incidence. Although the causes were not known, everything pointed to a cyber attack. And there are already those who have assumed responsibility.

What happened. Last Sunday, June 22, the City Council of Melilla reported technical problems in their computer systems. The president trusted that “in two days” they were active again, noting that the technicians had been working on their restoration from dawn. From the beginning, the hypothesis of a cyber attack that could subtract confidential information from the administration and citizens was considered.

Keep passing. Despite what The incidence was expected to last a couple of daysMelilla has been plunged into computer chaos for almost a week. The computer blackout has interrupted the operation of the administration servers of the Autonomous City, preventing access to their systems and suspending all electronic procedures.

The attack. The Qilin Group, linked to Russia and the cybercriminal scene of Eastern Europe, The authorship of this attack has been attributed. The group claims to have “completely destroyed the administrative and network infrastructure of the city”, in addition to having taken information in a volume of 4 to 5 terabytes.

“We have in our hands an almost complete list of the personal data of all the native inhabitants of Melilla. We also have in our power a significant list of data on tourists (their personal data). And the interesting thing is that the main reason why we are waiting for negotiators is another!

The threat. The group, in addition to ensuring a database of practically each of the inhabitants of the city, threatens to reveal information about supposed inappropriate use of public funds, pointing directly to members of the administration.

The answer. On Monday Juan José Imbroda, president of the city, claimed that the police would be alert to “Go against those malefactors” In case of being a cyber attack. Melilla has confirmed that the incident has been caused by “a computer attack of international origin”, and ensures that technical and cybersecurity teams continue to work to restore the service.

At the moment, there is still no estimated date for the return to normal.

Image | Jkijewski

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