NoName057(16) hits Canada with DDoS attacks

The pro-Russian cybercriminal group NoName057(16) launched a series of DDoS attacks against websites of critical Canadian organizations on April 12 and 13, 2023. This offensive was a direct response to the visit of Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to Ottawa. As a result of this event, Canada announced that it would provide Ukraine with 21,000 assault rifles, 38 machine guns and 2.4 million rounds of ammunition.

On April 12, 2023, NoName057(16) claimed responsibility for taking down the websites of the ports of Montreal, Quebec City, and Halifax, as well as the Laurentian Bank of Canada and the TD Bank. On the same day, the cybercriminals boasted that they had once again taken down the website of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The latter had recently declared that he was « not afraid of Russian hackers« .

On the night of April 12-13, 2023, a second wave of DDoS attacks successfully hit energy and technology targets. NoName057(16) disconnected the sites of Montreal-based graphics card manufacturer Matrox, Alberta-based oil company Husky Energy, and public power company Hydro-Québec.

This last target was immediately reassuring about the consequences of a DDoS attack, which does not cause any damage other than the unavailability of a site or an application. « No critical Hydro-Quebec system was attacked, and users’ personal data was not compromised, » said Philippe Archambault, spokesman for Hydro-Quebec.