Since Russian and Ukrainian sites are targeted by hackers, and Moscow bans access to certain western social media sites, internet users in both countries have turned to online tools to assist them to get around the restrictions. According to data from monitoring business Top10VPN, demand for Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) that encrypt data and hide a user's location has risen, reaching 354% higher in Russia on Sunday compared to the daily average from February 16 to 23.
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VPNs encrypt the data you send and receive over the internet.
A VPN has two advantages in this situation:
1) To begin with, it defends individuals from DDoS attacks. This is particularly crucial for independent journalists who have no support if they are targeted by threat actors. Whereas huge organizations find it difficult to protect themselves from DDoS attacks, this is not the situation for individuals. Users can mask their IP address by connecting to a VPN server, which means hackers won't be able to find their network and, as a result, won't be able to target them.
2) Secondly, neither their ISP nor any other third parties will be able to monitor their online activities. This, in turn, should encourage them to disclose the information even more openly, even if it is done anonymously or through private messages with media outlets.
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After a series of cyber-attacks on its government, banks, and public authority websites, Ukraine has experienced substantial internet disruptions, which the country has described as "another act of cyber-aggression against Ukraine."Comment
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On Feb. 15, cybercriminals launched a large-scale DDoS attack that brought down the websites of Ukraine's defence ministry, army, and two of the country's largest banks, PrivatBank and Oschadbank.Comment
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