
Russia's Cyberwar on Ukraine Is a Blueprint for What's to Come - artsandsci
https://www.wired.com/story/russian-hackers-attack-ukraine/
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BrandonMarc
One electricity grid operator used is iPhone to record video of the hack real-
time. He watched helplessly (not touching his computer) as someone else moved
the cursor about the screen, turning off breakers and causing a regional
blackout.

\---

 _The hackers hadn’t sent their blackout commands from automated malware, or
even a cloned machine as they’d done at Kyivoblenergo. Instead, the intruders
had exploited the company’s IT helpdesk tool to take direct control of the
mouse movements of the stations’ operators. They’d locked the operators out of
their own user interface. And before their eyes, phantom hands had clicked
through dozens of breakers—each serving power to a different swath of the
region—and one by one by one, turned them cold._

\---

It doesn't take a careful eye to notice the computer involved appears to be
running Windows XP.

~~~
vasya_pupkin
I recently graduated from Kharkov radio-electronics university, and there,
everywhere I had been, believe it or not, all computers had pirate versions of
Windows XP and 7 with the updates turned off, though Microsoft generously
allows to update even the pirate versions. And I'm sure in most governmental
institutions the situation is the same. The most astonishing thing, is that
officially these Windows versions are licensed, with proper appropriations
from the budget.

Honestly speaking, I'm sure in Russia situation is very similar.

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vasya_pupkin
what a bullshit. I read to "as popular support in the country has pulled
toward NATO and the European Union" and stopped. The supporters of the
opposite politics actually have been silenced with artillery and secret
police. I'm a ukrainian citizen from Kharkov

