Russian hacker attack on Italy: banking and transport sites down. Spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry: "Mattarella's words would not have been without consequences"

Russian hacker attack on Italy: the NoName057(16) group hits banks and transport. Linate and Malpensa airports and Intesa Sanpaolo hit

Di Elisa Finarelli il 17 Feb, 2025

Russian hacker attack on Italy: banking and transport sites down. Spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry: "Mattarella's words would not have been without consequences"

Italy has been hit again by a cyber attack from Russia. This time, the hacker group NoName057(16) has targeted the country's critical infrastructure, with a wave of DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks that temporarily took down the websites of airports, ports and banks.

Among the main structures involved in the attack are the Linate and Malpensa airports, the Transport Authority, the ports of Taranto and Trieste and the website of Intesa Sanpaolo, one of the main Italian banks.

Although i portals were restored in about 30 minutes, the episode confirms the growing vulnerability of Italian infrastructures to Russian cyber attacks, often linked to political and propaganda motives.

Who are the Russian hackers behind the attack?

The N groupoName057(16) is one of the most active in the cyber war against the West and is known for its DDoS attacks against government entities and critical infrastructure.

Active since 2022, NoName has repeatedly hit Ukraine and the European countries that support Kiev, with the aim of destabilizing and creating disruption without stealing sensitive data or information.

In Italy, the group has already attacked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Superior Council of the Judiciary and the Ministry of Transport in the past, as well as an attempted attack on the Postal Police, which was repelled.

The attack took place this morning, Monday 17 February, when several Italian websites have suddenly stopped working, making it impossible for users to access.

This is a tA computer technique that involves overloading servers by bombarding them with simultaneous requests until they become unusable. This is not a data theft, but a tattica to block services.

The objectives involved

•Airports: Linate and Malpensa they saw their websites blocked.

•Transport and ports: TheTransport Authority and Ports of Trieste and Taranto they were targeted.

•Banks: The site of Intesa Sanpaolo was made inaccessible for a few minutes.

I sites were quickly restored, thanks to the intervention of the National Cybersecurity Agency (NCA), which mitigated the effects of the attack.

The political motivations behind the attack: the role of Mattarella's statements

According to initial analyses, thecyber attack could be a direct response to the statements of the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, released during a conference in Marseille.

In fact, President Mattarella has been at the centre of several declarations from the Kremlin in recent days, given his speech at the Marseille conference in which he attacked Russia for the ongoing war. Lto the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, he defined the words of the Italian President “Russophobes” and declared that “they would not have remained without consequences".

A few hours later, The NoName group claimed responsibility for the attack on its social media channels, explicitly linking it to Mattarella's words.

Cyber conflict between Russia and the West: an escalation without end

The attack on Italian banks and transport is only the latest episode in a long series of cyberwarfare operations conducted by Russia against Western countries.

In recent years, Moscow has intensified its use of hacker groups to attack governments and strategic infrastructure, with the aim of:

•Destabilize opponents and generate insecurity.

•Disrupt essential public services, creating panic among the population.

•Influence political and propaganda debate, as in the case of the attack linked to Mattarella's statements.

How to protect yourself from cyber attacks

The Italian authorities have declared that the Cybersecurity will be a national priority, to meet the growing Russian threat.

Attacco hacker russo all’Italia: i siti di banche e trasporti in tilt. Portavoce del Ministero degli Esteri russo "parole di Mattarella non sarebbero state senza conseguenze"

The National Cybersecurity Agency is strengthening defense measures, with investments in new technologies and collaborations with other European countries.

However, the attack shows that the risk is still very high and that Italy remains a target for Russian cyber warfare.

As the conflict between Russia and the West continues on the digital front, Critical infrastructure protection will be essential to ensure the security of certain infrastructures and services.