Hungarian police arrest suspect in cyberattacks on independent media The Record from Recorded Future News

pppLeadershipppCybercrimeppNationstateppElectionsppTechnologyppCyber DailyppClick Here Podcastpp Free Newsletterpp Hungarian police have arrested a man suspected of carrying out a prolonged series of cyberattacks against independent media outlets in Hungary and abroad authorities said on Monday pp The 23yearold suspect from Budapest is accused of launching distributed denialofservice DDoS attacks that disrupted access to at least half a dozen Hungarian news sites beginning in April 2023 The attacks also temporarily took down the website of the Viennabased International Press Institute IPI in September last year shortly after the organization published a report detailing similar incidents pp According to Hungarys National Bureau of Investigation the man allegedly used DDoSforhire services and a range of online tools to orchestrate the attacks under the alias Hano Police have not released the suspects name and he has not been formally charged After questioning he was released from custody while the investigation continues reports said pp The cyberattacks intermittently disabled access to Media1hu and vipcasthu throughout 2023 and into 2024 Investigators say additional outlets such as HVG Telex 444 24hu and Ellenszélhu were also targeted  pp Officers searched the suspects home in Budapest earlier in July and seized multiple electronic devices that reportedly contained evidence of his activities  pp The IPI welcomed news of the arrest calling for a full and transparent investigation into the motive and potential external backing of the attacks pp There are many questions here that must be answered to secure accountability IPI Executive Director Scott Griffen said in a statement We urge authorities to identify the motive behind these attacks and determine whether any external coordination or funding was involved pp IPIs website was knocked offline for three days last September following its report on a wave of DDoS attacks targeting 40 Hungarian media outlets Most of the affected outlets were critical of Prime Minister Viktor Orbáns government while progovernment media remained untouched IPI said pp An independent investigation by the Swedish nonprofit Qurium later confirmed that the IPI attack was likely retaliation for its advocacy work pp Media outlets are frequent targets of cyberattacks including those driven by political motives pp In June Russian independent outlets IStories and Verstka were hit by DDoS attacks shortly after publishing an investigation into a child sex trafficking ring allegedly involving oligarchs and other influential figures  pp Last October Novaya Gazeta Europe another independent Russian media organization faced a wave of largescale DDoS attacks Ukrainian officials have also reported an increase in Russialinked cyber campaigns against local media websites since the start of Moscows fullscale invasion ppDaryna Antoniukppis a reporter for Recorded Future News based in Ukraine She writes about cybersecurity startups cyberattacks in Eastern Europe and the state of the cyberwar between Ukraine and Russia She previously was a tech reporter for Forbes Ukraine Her work has also been published at Sifted The Kyiv Independent and The Kyiv PostppPrivacyppAboutppContact Uspp Copyright 2025 The Record from Recorded Future Newsp