Cyber specialists from Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) attacked the digital infrastructure of the Russian e-commerce company Wildberries on Aug. 10-11, the agency reported.
HUR stated on Facebook that the cyber operation, conducted by the Cyber Corps group, resulted in large-scale disruptions despite the facility’s security measures.
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The attack affected the company’s main remote customer service channel and partially destabilized its payment infrastructure.
The intelligence agency noted that the attack led to mass complaints from users unable to complete financial transactions, creating additional strain on the company’s contact centers.
According to HUR, the cyber operation compounds the damage caused by recent kinetic attacks by Ukrainian defense forces on Wildberries warehouses.
The agency stated that targeting the company is part of an effort to disrupt an entity that helps sustain the Russian economy and its war effort against Ukraine.
Economic impact of warehouse strikes
The cyberattack follows a sustained campaign of Ukrainian drone strikes targeting Wildberries’ logistics infrastructure.
Ukraine has targeted at least 23 Wildberries facilities since mid-July, with nine company workers reportedly killed in the attacks.
The analysts estimate that the company has lost up to one-third of its warehouse space, with the destroyed or damaged facilities containing goods worth approximately 480 billion rubles ($5.7 billion).
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The financial losses are roughly equivalent to the annual budgets of some wealthier Russian regions, such as Krasnoyarsk Krai, and are larger than the budgets of several poorer regions. At least 1.18 million square meters of Wildberries warehouse space had been affected.
The destruction has impacted tens of thousands of businesses that rely on the platform. While the Russian government is reportedly preparing support measures like tax breaks and loan holidays, a Kremlin-linked not currently planned, raising concerns about potential bankruptcies among sellers
Rationale for targeting
Kyiv has stated that Wildberries is a legitimate military target because the marketplace sells goods used by the Russian armed forces.
While the company denies supplying the military and maintains that weapons are prohibited on its platform, The New York Times reported that first-person-view (FPV) drones, fiber-optic cables, and other equipment with potential military applications were available for purchase on Wildberries in early August.
The marketplace is a major component of Russia’s consumer economy, accounting for approximately 10% of the country’s retail sales. Following the attacks, SberIndex reported a sharp decline in spending on non-food goods through online marketplaces in recent weeks.
Wildberries’ co-founder Tatyana Kim has stated the strikes are intended to destabilize the company and create panic among the Russian population.
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