Italian police said they thwarted a cyberattack carried out by the pro-Russia hacker group Killnet and its affiliate “Legion” targeting May 10 semi-final and the final of the Eurovision Song Contest held on May 14 in Turin.
The police said it blocked several cyberattacks on network infrastructure during voting and the performances. Italian police also gathered information from the group’s Telegram channels to prevent other critical incidents and to trace their location, Reuters reported.
Last week, Killnet claimed responsibility for a series of cyberattacks on the websites belonging to Italy's defense ministry, Senate, National Health Institute, and the Automobile Club d’Italia.
Ukraine’s folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra won this year’s Eurovision contest with their song “Stefania,” riding a wave of immense public support for Ukraine across Europe and Australia. Russia was banned from participating in Eurovision this year following its invasion of Ukraine.
Cybersecurity Help statement on the critical situation in Ukraine
On February 24, people in many cities and towns across Ukraine woke up to the sounds of explosions and artillery fire, as the Russian Federation launched a full-scale invasion of the country. Such actions are unacceptable, political ambitions of any man aren’t worth of blood, tears, and destruction of millions of lives. We give our full support to the Ukrainian people in these hard times. No more war! Слава Україні!