A large-scale cyber operation by the Main Intelligence Directorate to destroy the information system of Russia's "Gazprom" could lead to an emergency operating mode and complicate the transportation and gas supply to entire regions of the Russian Federation, UNN sources reported.
Details
As the interlocutor in the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense explains, this time Ukrainian cyber specialists managed to achieve maximum results due to the scale of damage to the network infrastructure of the attacked target. "The degree of penetration of Ukrainian cyber specialists into Gazprom's information systems is unprecedentedly deep; it was not possible to achieve such a level before," emphasizes the source in Ukrainian intelligence.
As a result of the cyber operation, according to the UNN interlocutor, records of contracts, schedules, and tariffs of the corporation were destroyed, including data on who and how much gas/oil should be supplied, data on payments, taxes, Gazprom's financial balances, information on licenses and legal agreements of the corporation. In addition, according to the source, SCADA and GIS system data, which control pressure, flow rates, gas and oil balances, data on Gazprom's wells and networks, were destroyed.
According to the interlocutor in the Main Intelligence Directorate, this could lead to a significant decrease in budget revenues from what is essentially the main source of financing for Russia's military aggression against Ukraine. "We can talk about the impossibility of concluding new contracts by the state corporation "Gazprom", the emergency operating mode of the "Gazprom" corporation's systems and the complication of transportation and gas supply to entire regions of the Russian Federation, default on obligations, a significant drop in the value of "Gazprom" shares, undermining the stability of banks that lend to "Gazprom" and many other negative consequences for the aggressor country," the source notes.
For reference: Gazprom's information systems are a set of software, hardware, and infrastructure that ensure the automation and management of the activities of Gazprom and its subsidiaries. They include systems for managing the production, transportation, distribution, and sale of gas, as well as systems for managing finances, personnel, security, and other areas of the company's activities.
According to a source in the Main Intelligence Directorate, cyber specialists gained full access to all information systems of the Gazprom corporation, which made it possible to copy hundreds of terabytes of data. Full access was obtained to the internal analytical network and servers, and more than 20,000 user profiles with their electronic digital signatures (EDS) - employees of all levels of Gazprom's information system - were copied, the source indicated.
In addition, according to the UNN interlocutor, databases of more than 390 Gazprom subsidiaries and branches, including "Gazprom Teplo Energo", "Gazprom Obl Energo", "Gazprom Energozbyt" and hundreds of others, were seized. Access was gained to systems that support the technical operation of Gazprom's infrastructure (pipes, valves, sensors, etc.), as well as to Gazprom's auxiliary systems - data protection, server control, administration, and much more. Data from automated control systems and 1C server cluster data, along with all files (contracts, orders, directives) of the Gazprom corporation and its subsidiaries, were secretly downloaded, the source indicated.
Using unique software, according to the source, all data of the Gazprom corporation's information system stored on physical servers and cloud platforms, including backups, were deleted.