Lyce · Hybrid Watch
hw_f492651b213a79e8
Surge of cyberattacks hits Croatian state institutions, with the Russian-linked hacker group NoName057(16) claiming responsibility for multiple disruptions.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister of Croatia publicly noted that the country was witnessing a wave of distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against state-bodies and critical infrastructure platforms, particularly citing attacks on 26 June which rendered key public portals inaccessible for several hours. The hacker group NoName057(16) explicitly claimed many of these attacks via its Telegram channel, listing high-profile targets such as the Tax Administration, the Croatian National Bank and the Zagreb Stock Exchange. Although these incidents did not report large-scale data theft or physical destruction, the choice of targets and the disruption of governmental and financial systems signal a shift from mere espionage to active disruption of services. The geography is especially notable: the attacks occurred deep within Croatian civilian and institutional networks rather than on the frontier or maritime domains. From a typology perspective, the event clearly falls under CYBER rather than airspace or maritime intrusion or physical sabotage of infrastructure. The dynamics illustrate how adversaries can exploit cyber-means to impose cost, generate uncertainty and degrade operational readiness of state services without resorting to missiles or naval incursions. Additionally, the incident underscores that even geographically smaller and less-obvious states in the European security architecture are subject to this form of “grey zone” hybrid-warfare activity linked to the Russian Federation strategic agenda. Finally, the disruption emphasises that the adversary is leveraging volume and persistence of cyber-attacks to stretch defensive resources and force diversion, rather than seeking immediate dramatic physical outcomes.
E/M/R/S scores
- EExistence0/4 · Not assessed
- MIntent0/4 · Not assessed
- RRussian actor link0/4 · Not assessed
- SRussian state responsibility0/4 · Not assessed
Facts
No facts
Sources
-
- Role
- discovery_lead
- Date
- 2024-06-25T22:00:00Z
The Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister of Croatia publicly noted that the country was witnessing a wave of distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against state-bodies and critical infrastructure platforms, particularly citing attacks on 26 June which rendered key public portals inaccessible for several hours. The hacker group NoName057(16) explicitly claimed many of these attacks via its Telegram channel, listing high-profile targets such as the Tax Administration, the Croatian National Bank and the Zagreb Stock Exchange. Although these incidents did not report large-scale data theft or physical destruction, the choice of targets and the disruption of governmental and financial systems signal a shift from mere espionage to active disruption of services. The geography is especially notable: the attacks occurred deep within Croatian civilian and institutional networks rather than on the frontier or maritime domains. From a typology perspective, the event clearly falls under CYBER rather than airspace or maritime intrusion or physical sabotage of infrastructure. The dynamics illustrate how adversaries can exploit cyber-means to impose cost, generate uncertainty and degrade operational readiness of state services without resorting to missiles or naval incursions. Additionally, the incident underscores that even geographically smaller and less-obvious states in the European security architecture are subject to this form of “grey zone” hybrid-warfare activity linked to the Russian Federation strategic agenda. Finally, the disruption emphasises that the adversary is leveraging volume and persistence of cyber-attacks to stretch defensive resources and force diversion, rather than seeking immediate dramatic physical outcomes.