The NoName hacker group has started naming the websites of the New Zealand government as victims of their cyber attacks. The Parliament of New Zealand cyber attack was claimed by NoName for the nation’s support of Ukraine.
Parliament of New Zealand cyber attack
“The website of the Parliament of New Zealand was smashed,” read the Telegram page of the NoName hacker group.
The website of the Parliament of New Zealand was inaccessible when checked by The Cyber Express team.
In response to The Cyber Express’ inquiry regarding the reported cyber incident targeting the Parliament of New Zealand, Clerk of the House of Representatives, David Wilson, officially confirmed that the Parliament website was indeed affected by a cyber security-related event that occurred overnight.
“The security of the website was not compromised during the attack and no communication was received by Parliament from the attackers. For cyber-security reasons we will not be sharing the technical details of the situation.”
The message by the NoName hacker group further accused the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Chris Hipkins of planning a visit to Ukraine while on his trip to Europe. The pro-Russian hackers from the NoName group said that New Zealand was condemned for taking the ‘Russophobic course.’
“New Zealand imposed sanctions against the top leadership of Russia, and bans were also introduced against Russian imports, the Russian Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the military-industrial complex,….” the NoName group wrote on Telegram.
The message further accused New Zealand of imposing sanctions against 18 Russian financial institutions and the Russian Central Bank. Furthermore, the hackers were agitated that New Zealand increased the training program of the Armed Forces of Ukraine until August 2023.
“Today we will go through the resources of this country and clearly show the New Zealand authorities what it will cost them to support Zelensky’s criminal regime,” the threatening message by NoName concluded.
NoName has been targeting countries that have supported Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian war. New Zealand just like other countries imposed sanctions on Russia for its illegal invasion of Ukraine. The Russia sanctions are aligned with other countries from the Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and the United Kingdom.
On May 5th, 2023, the regulations were updated with nine individuals and 18 entities who were found providing aid for the illegal invasion. This included five Russian individuals and 16 Russian entities that gave material and strategic support for Russian invasions of Ukraine.
Parliament of New Zealand cyber attack and NoName hacker group
Besides the alleged Parliament of New Zealand cyber attack, the NoName057(16) hacker group has targeted Lithuania, Poland, Norway, And Estonia among others. The DDoS attacks by this group are often claimed on its Telegram channel created on March 11, 2022.
The group boasts of taking the targeted website down for a few hours. The hacker group made nearly 850 attacks as part of the DDosia project, in the past 3 months. They have been calling out hackers to partake in their cybercrime against Ukraine.
They were also offering around $1,200 via cryptocurrency to hackers for successfully launching DDoS attacks on organizations targeted by them. The group runs two Telegram channels one in English and the other in Russian language.
Media Disclaimer: This report is based on internal and external research obtained through various means. The information provided is for reference purposes only, and users bear full responsibility for their reliance on it. The Cyber Express assumes no liability for the accuracy or consequences of using this information.
