Italy’s national cybersecurity agency, ACN, has reported that around 20 Italian websites have been targeted by pro-Russian hackers.
The attacks were carried out by NoName057(16), a state-sponsored Russian hacker group. Their targets included the websites of major banks and airports, such as Intesa Sanpaolo, Banca Monte dei Paschi, Iccrea Banca, and Milan’s Linate and Malpensa airports.
According to ACN, the majority of the attacks were DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks, designed to overload servers and disrupt operations. However, cybersecurity authorities responded swiftly, preventing any significant disruption.
The agency suggested the attacks were politically motivated.
Last week, Italian President Sergio Mattarella strongly criticised Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, drawing parallels with World War II. “This was the project of the Third Reich in Europe. The current Russian aggression against Ukraine is of this nature,” he said.
Moscow reacted angrily to Mattarella’s comments. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed his remarks as “blasphemous inventions.” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni defended Mattarella’s stance.
In apparent retaliation, Russian hackers launched attacks on multiple Italian websites.
This is not the first time NoName057(16) has targeted Italy. Last December, the pro-Russian hackers attacked the websites of Italy’s Foreign Ministry and Milan’s Linate and Malpensa airports. While the websites were temporarily down, the airports’ mobile apps remained operational.
The group later claimed responsibility on Telegram, stating that Italy’s “Russophobes get a well-deserved cyber response.”
