Russian hackers target Spanish government sites amid Granada summit

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - A pro-Russian hacker group on Friday targeted and disrupted several websites related to the Spanish government and the city of Granada.

The attack comes as Granada hosts European leaders in a pivotal summit related to migration, the war in Ukraine and EU enlargement.

The group Noname057(16) claimed responsibility for the attack, attributing it to the visit of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In a statement on Telegram, the group said: "The Spaniards plan to supply ... six (Hawk anti-missile) systems, as well as air defense and anti-drone systems. It seems the Spanish segment of the internet has been waiting for our visit."

While the group listed seven websites that it attacked, only a few were still down around three hours after the attack – Granada's tourism, metro, bus, and city hall websites.

The websites of the Spanish government, Spain's National Cybersecurity Institute and the Economy Ministry, which the hackers also claimed to have attacked, were running normally.

The pro-Russian hacker group was formed in March 2022. Their manifesto says they "are conducting massive attacks on Ukropropaganda resources that brazenly lie to people about Russia's special operation in Ukraine, as well as on the websites of Ukrainian grief-hackers who try to support the neo-Nazi regime of Zelenskyy."

The group has launched attacks on websites around the world.

European leaders remained in overtime talks in Granada as the countries clashed over plans for the bloc's enlargement as well as Hungary and Poland's objections to a migration pact.

While no EU-wide agreement was reached regarding Ukraine on Thursday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez indeed offered Zelenskyy new air defense and anti-drone systems, including six more Hawk anti-aircraft missile launchers, as well as new demining technology.