A cyberattack targeting approximately ten official websites in Italy, including the Foreign Ministry and Milan’s Linate and Malpensa airports, temporarily disrupted operations on Saturday, according to Italy’s cybersecurity agency.
The pro-Russian hacker group Noname057(16) took responsibility for the attack via Telegram, stating that Italy’s “Russophobes get a well-deserved cyber response.”
A spokesperson for Italy’s cybersecurity agency confirmed that the attack appeared to be a “Distributed Denial of Service” (DDoS) assault, where hackers flood a network with excessive data traffic to incapacitate it.
The cybersecurity agency provided immediate assistance to the affected institutions and companies, mitigating the impact of the attack within two hours, the spokesperson said.
Despite the attack, operations at Milan’s Linate and Malpensa airports remained unaffected, according to a spokesperson for SEA, the company managing the airports. While the websites were temporarily inaccessible, the airports’ mobile apps continued functioning without interruption.
This incident is part of a series of cyberattacks linked to pro-Russian groups, as geopolitical tensions spill into the digital realm. Italy, a NATO member, has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine, making it a potential target for such activities.
