Russian hackers attack Royal Family website in possible retaliation for Ukraine support
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The internet is a powerful tool—but it can also be a big problem, especially for powerful institutions.
The Royal Family's website was made unavailable for 90 minutes due to an alleged cyber attack orchestrated by a pro-Putin group.
KillMilk, the purported leader of this hacktivist group, announced the siege of the Royal Family's official website on a social media platform.
Witnesses of the online warfare reported that the website displayed an error message and was locked down sometime around 10:20 am on the morning of Sunday, October 1st.
The abrupt blackout prompted a royal representative to speak out on the matter. They affirmed that the attackers had 'not gained access to the Royal Family's website'.
'The website went down due to a Denial of Service (DoS) attack for around an hour and a half. There was no access to our systems or content,' they added.
Simply put, a DoS attack overwhelms a system by flooding it with so many requests it can no longer keep up, thus rendering it inoperable and inaccessible.
This unfortunate event surfaced two weeks after King Charles's stern condemnation of Russia's 'unprovoked aggression' and his reassurance that 'Ukraine must prevail' was met with a standing ovation in an event in Paris.
The group of hackers known as KillNet is believed to be affiliated with the figures at the top of Putin's regime by cyber security experts.
They are notorious for their acts of cyber terrorism on government institutions and private companies, and had already targeted the Buckingham Palace in November of 2022 by taking down the website for several hours.
They insisted that their latest endeavour was an 'attack on paedophiles'. However, a photo of King Charles was posted on the website with the words 'they killed our website'.
It should be noted that the Royal Family have been unequivocally supportive of Ukraine. King Charles hosted President Zelensky for talks at Buckingham Palace in February, while the Princess of Wales also took part in pro-Ukrainian performances at Eurovision earlier this year.
The Prince of Wales also displayed his support when he visited Ukraine's border with Poland and troops for their efforts.
The Royals have also housed refugees who have fled due to the war.
An intelligence network called ‘The Five Eyes'—comprised of agencies from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, US, and UK—had warned in 2022 that KillNet was one of the several hacker groups that had expressed their support for Russia and threatened to retaliate on those who attack Russia or supported Ukraine.
Just this year, other pro-Russia hacker groups (UserSec and Anonymous Russia) had also claimed responsibility for taking down the websites of two British airports—London City Airport and Birmingham Airport—in retaliation to NATO’s support for Ukraine.
'We decided to put one of the largest airports in the UK to sleep. Glory to Russia!' said UserSec.
While Anonymous Russia said: '[We join] the attack on UK airports! Before your eyes, the sleeping international British airport Birmingham! Glory to Russia!'
Members, what are your thoughts on the action of these hacker groups? Let us know in the comments below!
The Royal Family's website was made unavailable for 90 minutes due to an alleged cyber attack orchestrated by a pro-Putin group.
KillMilk, the purported leader of this hacktivist group, announced the siege of the Royal Family's official website on a social media platform.
The official website of the British Royal Family inaccessible for 90 minutes due to an alleged cyber attack by Pro-putin hackers. Image source: royal.uk.
Witnesses of the online warfare reported that the website displayed an error message and was locked down sometime around 10:20 am on the morning of Sunday, October 1st.
The abrupt blackout prompted a royal representative to speak out on the matter. They affirmed that the attackers had 'not gained access to the Royal Family's website'.
'The website went down due to a Denial of Service (DoS) attack for around an hour and a half. There was no access to our systems or content,' they added.
Simply put, a DoS attack overwhelms a system by flooding it with so many requests it can no longer keep up, thus rendering it inoperable and inaccessible.
This unfortunate event surfaced two weeks after King Charles's stern condemnation of Russia's 'unprovoked aggression' and his reassurance that 'Ukraine must prevail' was met with a standing ovation in an event in Paris.
The group of hackers known as KillNet is believed to be affiliated with the figures at the top of Putin's regime by cyber security experts.
They are notorious for their acts of cyber terrorism on government institutions and private companies, and had already targeted the Buckingham Palace in November of 2022 by taking down the website for several hours.
They insisted that their latest endeavour was an 'attack on paedophiles'. However, a photo of King Charles was posted on the website with the words 'they killed our website'.
It should be noted that the Royal Family have been unequivocally supportive of Ukraine. King Charles hosted President Zelensky for talks at Buckingham Palace in February, while the Princess of Wales also took part in pro-Ukrainian performances at Eurovision earlier this year.
The Prince of Wales also displayed his support when he visited Ukraine's border with Poland and troops for their efforts.
The Royals have also housed refugees who have fled due to the war.
An intelligence network called ‘The Five Eyes'—comprised of agencies from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, US, and UK—had warned in 2022 that KillNet was one of the several hacker groups that had expressed their support for Russia and threatened to retaliate on those who attack Russia or supported Ukraine.
Just this year, other pro-Russia hacker groups (UserSec and Anonymous Russia) had also claimed responsibility for taking down the websites of two British airports—London City Airport and Birmingham Airport—in retaliation to NATO’s support for Ukraine.
'We decided to put one of the largest airports in the UK to sleep. Glory to Russia!' said UserSec.
While Anonymous Russia said: '[We join] the attack on UK airports! Before your eyes, the sleeping international British airport Birmingham! Glory to Russia!'
