A number of countries in Europe were hit by a large-scale cyberattack that caused internet connections to drop in several places.
The cyberattack hit a satellite internet network provider called Viasat, which operates in a number of countries in Europe, including Ukraine. Since Russia invaded Ukraine some time ago, operators from the United States have experienced some problems with their network.
Viasat said terminal devices belonging to its users located in Eastern and Central Europe were damaged due to sabotage. Meanwhile, Spiegel, a weekly magazine from Germany, said that this disturbance was suspected to have something to do with Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
As a result of this cyber attack, users of the KA-SAT satellite-based internet service cannot access the internet. Users are also asked not to update their modem software that is connected to the Viasat network, because it is suspected that it can permanently damage the modem.
The impact of this attack is not only for ordinary consumers, because Viasat's satellite internet network is also used in a number of wind power plants in Germany. There are at least three wind turbines connected to the internet using Viasat.
Now the three wind turbines cannot be monitored and controlled remotely. Fortunately, the turbine is still operating and can generate electricity, as quoted by us from Techtimes, Monday (7/3/2022).
The mode of spreading malware through software updates shows that these cyber attacks were carried out by professionals, and had a clear purpose -- not an economic motive --, such as disrupting internet connections in certain areas.
This Viasat service is the same as the Starlink service offered by SpaceX. Elon Musk, the SpaceX boss, previously also sent a truckload of terminal devices to access the Starlink network to Ukraine.
Then he warned that Ukrainians using the Starlink service should be careful, because it is the only non-Russian internet service left in Ukraine.