Was Putin planning cyber attacks against two targets in Switzerland?

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There is not only fighting at the front, but also online. Specifically: Russian hackers who want to create chaos in the West. The so-called “Vulcan Files” reveal that Russia is planning – and may already be attacking – a cyberwar against the West. This has been discovered by the research group of the newspapers “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, “Spiegel”, ZDF and Tamedia.

Shortly after the beginning of the Russian attack on Ukraine, the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” received the “Vulkan Files” from an anonymous source. The source cited Russia’s war of aggression and Vulkan’s close ties to secret services as a motive. According to the research team, cybersecurity experts and Western secret services believe that the data in the documents is genuine. Explosive: Two of the targets listed are in Switzerland.

The “Vulkan Files” of the Russian software company NTC Vulkan show 5,299 pages of information and data about the actions of Russian hackers. They work for the Russian secret service (FSB) and the Ministry of Defense, among others. As the “Tages-Anzeiger” reports, the shut down nuclear power plant in Mühleberg BE and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (EDA) appear.

“Switzerland has institutions that could be of interest to Russia”

The Moscow IT company NTC Vulkan is said to be planning state cyber attacks, spreading propaganda and spreading disinformation. But it goes even further: the targets of the hacker attacks are also airports, power plants and various software. For example, NTC Vulkan would derail trains. And in the middle of the voluminous document maps of Bern suddenly appear.

“Switzerland has institutions that could be of interest to Russia,” Marina Krotofil, a cybersecurity expert, told the “Tages-Anzeiger”. In the data you see a map of Bern from the year 2016 with the coordinates marked. This should be a guide to hacking. Next to it is a text box in Russian: “Aim of the attack”. This is probably a hacker’s guide to how to take control of the computers of the Swiss Foreign Office. However, the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the nuclear power plant in Mühleberg serve as an example.

Instead of Bern you end up in Kabul

A closer look at the maps reveals that Russian hackers’ targets are not real. The FDFA is not where it should be at all, but shows a building near the Federal Palace in Bern on the map. And the coordinates of the power plant in Mühleberg are also wrong – if you enter them, you end up in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Because of these errors, the Federal Inspectorate for Nuclear Safety (Ensi) is convinced that no hacker attack is planned on Mühleberg. The Mühleberg operator BKW tells the “Tages-Anzeiger” that there is no evidence of successful cyber attacks – but that is no reason to breathe a sigh of relief.

NTC-Vulkan works for the FSB, the Russian military intelligence service GRU and the SWR, which is responsible for foreign espionage. “I understood that we do not just collect data, but that we use it for the Russian secret services,” says a former employee of “Spiegel”.

Spiez lab was attacked

Part of the GRU is a group of hackers. This is unit 74455, code name Sandworm. On Christmas 2015, Sandworm allegedly attacked Ukraine’s power supply. Shortly before the second round of 2017, hackers in France leaked the emails of incumbent President Emmanuel Macron (45). In 2018, the Russians disrupted the Winter Olympics after Russia was disqualified over doping scandals – six GRU employees were subsequently charged. Then Switzerland became the target.

In 2018, Spiez Laboratory was attacked by the Russian hackers. The research institute in the Bernese Oberland is the Swiss specialized agency for protection against NBC attacks, ie nuclear, biological and chemical warfare agents. The Swiss scientists are regarded worldwide as the experts par excellence when it comes to chemical weapons. Sandworm is blamed for the attack.

Source: Blick