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Russia-linked hackers used decentralised network in Ukraine cyberattack, ESET says

ESET said the hackers hid commands in Yggdrasil, a volunteer-run network, and wiped the company’s data after an initial phishing breach.

  • On Thursday, Slovakia-based cybersecurity firm ESET reported that Russia-linked hackers used Yggdrasil, a decentralized volunteer-run network, to conceal communications during a cyberattack on an unnamed Ukrainian grain logistics company.
  • Attackers gained access to the firm's systems on July 16, 2025, through a phishing email; ESET researchers identified UAC-0099 as the group providing initial access before handing control to Sandworm.
  • The hackers communicated through Yggdrasil, an experimental volunteer-run network with no central operator, which prevents authorities from shutting down a single server to disrupt the network.
  • Sandworm, a group linked to Russia's military intelligence agency the GRU, wiped the company's data on September 17, 2025, using SDelete, a legitimate file-deletion tool.
  • Ukraine's agricultural sector, which accounts for nearly half the country's exports, remains a frequent target of Russian attacks; ESET identified this as the first documented case of state-linked Yggdrasil abuse.
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Russia-linked hackers used decentralised network in Ukraine cyberattack, ESET says

Russia-linked hackers used a decentralised volunteer-run network to conceal communications during an attack on a Ukrainian grain logistics ​company, marking the first documented case of a state-linked ‌group using the network this way, ESET researchers said.

·London, United Kingdom
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Business Recorder broke the news on Thursday, October 22, 2026.
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