Russia Began Preparing for Cyberattacks on Ukraine in Early 2021

Russian-affiliated hackers were positioning themselves for cyberattacks against Ukraine as early as March 2021, according to researchers at Microsoft Corp.

A handful of hacking groups secured access to Ukrainian organizations –- including defense, IT and energy networks -- for strategic and battlefield intelligence collection, the technology giant revealed in a report published on Wednesday. The campaigns appeared to be setting the groundwork for attacks before and after the invasion began in February.

These previously unreported reconnaissance operations preceded what has become an aggressive and damaging campaign against Ukraine, which has been hit with more than 237 cyberattacks by at ...