The European Investment Bank (EIB), a public financial and credit institution of the European Union, has fallen victim to an ongoing Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack orchestrated by hacker groups Anonymous Sudan and Killnet. These pro-Russian groups have claimed responsibility for targeting the EIB, which provides long-term loans to support the development of underdeveloped regions in Europe.
Anonymous Sudan took to their social media pages to call for a DDoS attack against the EIB, while Killnet announced on their Telegram channel that they had targeted the bank’s inter-network infrastructure. As a result, the EIB’s main website is currently inaccessible, and the bank has acknowledged the situation as a “cyber attack” in a recent tweet. The attack has reportedly disrupted the operations of the EIB’s interconnection infrastructure.
This latest incident is likely part of a larger wave of cyber threats against European financial institutions by pro-Russian hackers in response to European support for Ukraine. The three prominent hacker groups involved—Killnet, Anonymous Sudan, and REvil—proclaimed themselves as the Darknet Parliament on June 16th, gaining attention from threat analysts on Twitter.
Established in 1958, the EIB’s primary objective is to provide loans for constructing and reconstructing facilities in European Union countries. With an authorized capital of 248.8 billion euros, it plays a crucial role in financing regional development projects.
Interestingly, while Anonymous Sudan claims to be a hacktivist group from Sudan, analysis conducted by CyberCX suggests that the current hacking group associated with them is a Russian-affiliated entity with potentially no direct connection to Sudan. This connection to Killnet further supports their affiliation. The group emerged in 2023 and has targeted countries that opposed Sudan, claiming responsibility for attacks against notable companies such as Scandinavian Airlines, Tinder, and Lyft, as well as various hospitals and organizations in the United States.
