ZN.ua reports a several days' cyber attack

The online media outlet ZN.ua suffered a cyber attack that lasted from the evening of January 19 to January 21, 2024. Anna Zdorenko, head of ZN.UA's digital department, reported this to an IMI representative.

"We don't know whether it has anything to do with the joint article by Inna Vedernykova and Tetyana Bezruk about pressure on anti-corruption journalists and activists, which was released at lunchtime on Friday (January 19. – Ed.), but we do not rule that out, either" Zdorenko noted.

She stressed that the team's main task is to "fight back and give readers the opportunity to receive unbiased information and analysis."

Zdorenko added that the editors do not know who is behind the cyberattacks: the "order" could have come from abroad as well as from within the country.

In recent years, Anna Zdorenko said, ZN.ua has been posting anti-corruption investigations related to procurement deals by the Ministry of Defense, withdrawal of money from the Ministry of Defense, the energy sector, agricultural export, as well as draft bill No. 5655 (on amendments to some legislative acts regarding the urban planning reform).

"On the other hand, 'Dzerkalo Tyzhnia' has been known since its inception for its hardline anti-Russian stance. The Roskomnadzor blocked access to our website a while ago and put it on all possible blacklists," explained Zdorenko.

She added that since the start of the full-scale invasion, the team has faced over 100 DDoS attacks.

"They were targeting as particularly actively in the first months, when the attacks were almost non-stop around the clock", stressed the head of the digital media outlet.

In January 2024, they saw three such attacks, which, in her opinion, indicates that the website is under constant surveillance. "As we step up our protection, more and more resources are being channeled to DDoS us," added Anna Zdorenko.

As reported by the IMI, in March 2022, the Roskomnadzor blocked access to multiple Ukrainian media websites and institutions. This included the online media outlet ZN.ua.

In March 2022, the ZN.ua website was hacked, as well. The media outlet also suffered a DDoS attack in August 2023. The attack lasted several hours.

On January 24, 2024, the media outlet "Ukrainian Pravda" reported a DDoS attack as well.