Three pro-Russian hackers have been arrested for alleged cyberattacks against Spain and other NATO countries for terrorist purposes, Spanish police said on Saturday, July 20. The suspects were detained for allegedly participating in distributed denial of service (DDoS) cyberattacks against public institutions and strategic sectors.
The cyberattacks targeted web pages of public and private organizations within the government sectors and critical infrastructures and essential services in countries that support Ukraine in the conflict with Russia. Spanish authorities have not disclosed if the three suspects, who remain unnamed, have been formally charged or detained.
Police released a video on the social media platform X showing a raid at one of the suspects’ homes, where a Soviet-era hammer and sickle flag was prominent on a wall. According to a Civil Guard statement, “These computer attacks have been organized by the hacktivist group, after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and (which has been) one of the most active”.
The group articulated in their founding manifesto that they “will respond proportionately in response to the hostile and openly anti-Russian actions of Western Russophobes”.
