TheCybersecurity Team of Masaryk University would like to show solidarity with anyone affected by the ongoing armed conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. The current armed conflict has not only affected its direct participants – you may have noticed that part of its events is also taking place in cyberspace, which is causing an increase in various threats. In response to these threats, our team has prepared some tips and tricks that can help you avoid potentially unpleasant situations.

What are the threats specifically?

First of all, let’s look at the widely discussed DDoS attacks (Distributed Denial of Service DDoS), which operate on the principle of limiting the service's functionality by flooding it with many requests. The target of this type of attack is not a regular user but a website, for example. However, there have been activist manifestations in recent days where a user can join one of the sites calling the general population to make DDoS attacks against the Russian Federation. Such behavior can be tempting, but we strongly recommend that you consider it well – you run the security risk yourself because sites may subsequently infect your device with malicious software or retaliate. We also ask that you not use the university network for this possible activity.

Proven cases where false accounts and massages have been created to send financial donations to Ukraine cannot be overlooked. Therefore, send your money only to verified organizations. For this purpose, People in need in coordination with Česko.Digital created a simple signpost of humanitarian organizations, through which you can safely participate in helping Ukraine. You can also get involved in helping Ukrainian students, academics, and their families within MUNI. Every time you send money somewhere, it also pays off to check the website's address bar. Because despite credible visual identity, it can be a fraudulent form for sending financial gifts.

And how to defend yourself?

Due to the growing number of threats and attacks, we recommend you be even more cautious than before. Because of our inattention, when we are overwhelmed by new information and strong emotions, we become more vulnerable to cyberspace attackers. You can find detailed advice and instructions on how to move safer in cyberspace at https://security.muni.cz/en. We especially recommend checking the Cybercompass course. Follow us on our Twitter for current cybersecurity events in this situation. And if you do fall victim to an attack, report it to us.