On March 24, Russian hackers took down several Belgian government websites. The pro-Russian group NoName057 carried out the attack. They targeted key government portals. One of the main sites affected was MyGov.be. This platform lets Belgians access important documents, like ID requests and administrative forms. The Walloon Parliament’s website was also briefly offline.
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The hackers said the attack was revenge for Belgium’s decision to give €1 billion in aid to Ukraine. The financial support was announced in early March. It was meant to help Ukraine fight Russian aggression. The hackers used the attack to show their anger at Belgium’s support for Ukraine.
The Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium (CCB) quickly reacted to the attack. Authorities said most websites were back online within hours. However, they warned that more attacks could happen.
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How the Attack Happened
The hackers used a DDoS attack (Distributed Denial of Service). This method floods a website with huge amounts of fake traffic. The server can’t handle the overload. As a result, it becomes slow or completely unreachable for real users.
DDoS attacks can cause serious disruption, but they don’t steal data. The hackers can’t access private information this way. Their goal is to crash websites and create confusion.
FalconFeeds.io, a Belgian cybersecurity firm, confirmed that hackers targeted MyGov.be, the Walloon Parliament site, and several Brussels government websites. Authorities restored most sites, but experts warned that the hackers could attack again.
This is not the first time Belgium has been attacked. In June 2024, the same group hit several municipal websites before local elections. The disruption lasted for days and affected small-town services. This time, the hackers targeted larger government sites, making the attack more severe.
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Why Belgium Was Targeted
The pro-Russian hackers explained their motive in a Telegram post. This platform is often used by cybercriminals. They said the attack was revenge for Belgium’s support for Ukraine.
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Earlier this month, Belgium announced €1 billion in aid to help Ukraine fight Russian aggression. This angered pro-Russian groups, who saw it as hostile. The hackers used the DDoS attack as a digital protest. They wanted to disrupt Belgium’s websites and send a political message.
Belgium’s Cybersecurity Centre confirmed that the attack did not pose any serious security threats. Officials stated that the attack only overloaded the servers, making them temporarily inaccessible but not compromising any sensitive data.
Authorities restored most government websites quickly but remain on alert for more attacks. The incident shows how cyber warfare serves as a tool for political retaliation in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
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