Colorado state web portal still down after cyberattack
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By
Chris Teale
The Russian-speaking group Killnet claimed responsibility for the hack as well as similar attacks on several other states’ government websites.
The web portal for Colorado’s state government services remained offline after a cyberattack by a Russian-speaking group targeted several states’ websites.
Colorado set up a temporary website to direct residents to the most common online services but said everything else was “online and available.” State officials said the Governor’s Office of Information Technology and State Emergency Operations Center are “actively working with state and federal partners” to restore full portal access. Officials had “no estimated timeline” for restoring service.
The hack also reportedly targeted state government websites in Connecticut, Kentucky, Mississippi and Missouri. Some of those websites were still unavailable on Thursday, while some were operating normally.
The Russian-speaking Killnet group claimed responsibility for the attacks. The group has previously targeted state government websites, and analysts have described itas a “hacktivist” group that has taken Russia’s side in its ongoing war with Ukraine.
In an analysis earlier this year, cybersecurity software company Forescout described Killnet as a “semi-structured organization with effective communication,” but said there is “no evidence that they use or develop custom tools or even that they reuse very sophisticated tools in their attacks.”
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warned in a May advisory that Killnet is one of several “Russian-aligned cybercrime groups” that could pose a threat to the country’s critical infrastructure. Other researchers, however, have said that Killnet does not have the ability to cause lasting damage.
This attack came a day after Colorado Gov. Jared Polis kicked off the state’s observation of Cybersecurity Awareness Month and just over a month after Fremont County in the state was impacted by a “cybersecurity event” that left many systems offline and renewed calls for local governments to take advantage of free resources and training to better protect themselves.