Pro-Russian group's threats to attack the UK 'cannot be underestimated', according to expert

Richard De Vere, who is an award-winning cyber-security expert, in a recent interview, raised awareness about the dangers that come from underestimating the Russian cyber threats towards the UK.

Everyone and all institutions are vulnerable

De Vere works as an ethical hacker, a modern-day computer science occupation where the professional gets authorisation from an institution or company to attempt to crack or gain access to their encrypted or secure computer system, application, or data.

For his work, De Vere has won awards and is currently serving as an advisor for the Metropolitan police in the UK.

In an interview for Express, De Veresaid it would be unwise to underestimate cyberattacks in the UK conducted by Russian hacker groups and everyone and all institutions are vulnerable:

Every person, every organisation, and every institution is vulnerable to cyber crime.

Newsweek reported last month about the attack which brought down the website of Prince William, an act orchestrated by a Russian hacker group called ‘Killnet group’.

The group took to their Telegram channel to share a post where they took the responsibility for taking offline the princeofwales.gov.uk website due to the UK's support for Ukraine.

A Twitter user with the handle ‘CyberKnow’ shared a screenshot where the ‘Killnet group’ shared their successful hacking activity on the website of the Prince of Wales, and also vowed to attack other institutions in the UK. De Vere said:

They are twisted social climbers who will go to lengths to forge a connection to things of international importance and interest – from the Royal Family to the London Stock Exchange.

This attention gives them the notoriety they crave and also puts their ideology under the spotlight, giving them further fuel to launch disruptive attacks.

Cyber warfare

According to De Vere, the ‘Killnet group’ has already declared war on 10 nations for their support of Ukraine, Express reports.

While De Vere says this group has not received public state backing from Russia, he believes their activity plays largely in line withVladimir Putin’s aims:

I doubt they're dinner guests at Putin’s palace, but collectively these people can be heard by the most powerful in society.

Even without the official backing of the Russian state, volunteer hacktivist groups can have an impact, and we can see that their activities are largely in line with Putin’s aims.

He added:

Don’t underestimate any group dedicated enough and powered by anger and a sense of injustice – especially those with computer skills.

Sources used:

-Express: ‘Putin loyalists poised to target UK with devastating attacks “cannot be underestimated”’

-Newsweek: ‘Prince William Hacked by Pro-Russian Group’