The Russians are coming! Recession encourages Russian hackers to 'go west'

Unemployment caused by sanctions and low oil prices means more cyber attacks from highly skilled Russian IT specialists

Cyber attacks from Russia are set to increase and intensify in sophistication as a result of rising unemployment in Russia's IT sector. That is the warning of Oleg Demidov, a senior consultant at PIR Center, an independent Russian cyber security research organisation.

Not only has the pool of talented hackers-for-hire in Russia been swelled by rising unemployment, but the economic opportunities within Russia have declined as a result of the country's recession. As a result, hacking groups not only have a bigger pool of top IT talent to draw from, but are also looking further afield for their targets.

And chief information security officers (CISOs) in the UK ought to take notice before they fall victim, Demidov told SC Magazine.

"Russian activities in cyber-space are very different compared to those of the Chinese. The majority of Chinese hackers are viewed as of a relatively low skill level, with a focus on non-stop investigation of hundreds of thousands of websites in the US and other Western countries, concerning their vulnerability.

"Russian hackers mostly concentrate on conducting special operations to steal sensitive data, mostly of defence and military-political origin. The attacks by Russian hackers are usually based on a combined approach, with the use of cyber-means, and the 'human factor'," he said.

For example, he added, the US-led NATO coalition in Afghanistan had much of its plans exfiltrated via infected flash drives that the Russian "special services" smuggled into their offices. Attacks on Western targets will therefore almost certainly include spear-phishing attacks - phishing attacks that target specific people and organisations.

However, Russian hackers don't solely target non-Russian organisations. According to the Russian Federal Security Service, some 74 million cyber attacks were conducted against state bodies in Russia last year.

Russia's economy, which had been growing strongly for the past 15 years, has been hit hard by the sudden and unexpected fall in oil prices over the past year, while sanctions against the country over its activities in Ukraine has also caused foreign investment to dry up.