Roscosmos hit by cyber-attack using Russian inspired ransomware

Russia’s space agency has reportedly been on the receiving end of a cyber-attack, with ransomware born out of its own country.

As claims swirled last month, Roscosmos boss and Putin ally Dmitry Rogozin diffused statements made by the group of hackers, calling them “scammers and petty swindlers”.

“All our space activity control centers are operating normally,” Rogozin wrote in a tweet last month.

The western hacker group, Network Battalion 65 or NB65, claimed it had shut down a monitoring system used by the space agency after posting images of server information on Twitter.

However, analysis of a file containing source code has alleged to have found that the hackers used 66 per cent of the same code used by infamous Russian cybercrime group Conti, The Telegraph first reported.

Conti, known for using ransomware to extort millions from US and European businesses, was the group behind a hack that shut down the critical IT systems of Ireland’s health service.