Daily Telegraph* claims International cyber-terrorists could target live broadcasts during the Coronation in order to take the ceremony off the air and score a propaganda coup.
British newspaper suggests foreign hackers* are the most capable and likely of launching a cyber attack and report that broadcasters say they are taking preventative measures to protect their systems.
The newspaper also mentions an alleged plot in 2011 by hackers to disrupt the Royal Wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, which is claimed to have been foiled by the Met Police. The plot allegedly involved an attempt to crash the Royal couple’s website while the wedding was being streamed, using a Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attack.
When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex married in 2018* intelligence reports again made claims a similar attack was planned, resulting in mitigating measures being put in place. But with half a billion people around the world expected to tune in to watch the Coronation on Saturday, there are warnings again that the event is too good an opportunity to miss for cyber terrorists.
So, how real is the threat? ESET’s cybersecurity expert Jake Moore commented on the newspaper’s claims:
“Threat actors are well known for targeting hugely publicized events and will look at causing disruption for kicks and publicity rather than the typical financially motivated factor we so often see in cyberattacks. From nation state to low level cyber criminals wanting to make a name for themselves, these events need to be policed not only physically but digitally too.
From fake apps and websites appearing online to the potential of a DDoS attack and power failures, threat actors attack from all angles and are incredibly fearless in their attempts which will inevitably remain anonymous. This makes it that much more difficult to protect from when the landscape is completely unknown. We’ve seen this pattern repeat during all recent global events like the Football World Cup, Olympics but also catastrophic events like earthquake in Turkey an Syria and events in Ukraine.“
*ESET does not bear any responsibility for the accuracy of any quoted media information.
ESET Ireland 