Cyprus critical infrastructure hit by coordinated attacks of activist hacker groups

In mid-October 2024, Cyprus faced a series of coordinated cyberattacks targeting its critical infrastructure and government websites. Pro-Palestinian hacker groups, including LulzSec Black, Moroccan Soldiers, Black Maskers Army, and Anonymous Syria, claimed responsibility for these attacks, citing Cyprus's support for Israel as their motivation.

The attacks primarily aimed to disrupt services through distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) methods, temporarily affecting facilities such as banks, airports, and government portals. The government's main online portal, gov.cy, experienced a brief outage but was restored without significant impact on other services. Similarly, the Cyprus Electricity Authority (EAC) and Hermes Airports reported attempted cyberattacks but confirmed that their operations remained unaffected.

Cypriot authorities responded promptly by securing systems and collaborating with cybersecurity firms to assess and mitigate the threats. While the attacks caused some disruptions, there were no reports of significant data breaches or lasting damage.