Pro-Russian hacker groups have claimed they caused Spain and Portugal’s blackouts: Other parts of NATO Europe were rendered unconscious too.

Two pro-Russian hacker groups have claimed responsibility for the widespread power outage that plunged Spain and Portugal into darkness on Monday, April 28.

The dramatic online claims were made on the social media platform X

‘Pro-Russian’ hacker group Dark Storm Team has taken to social media to claim joint responsibility with NoName057 for the blackout that affected millions across Spain, Portugal, and other European countries.

‘Today, we and the noname057 team succeeded in cutting off the electricity in some NATO countries. #DARKSTORM #noname057.’

THEY HAD THE INSIDER INFORMATION: They also shared a list of URLS allegedly belonging to compromised Portuguese government ministries, including the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Defence, and the Ministry of the Interior.

They also seemingly mocked the situation in another post: ‘Isn’t it funny to cut off electricity to countries from home?’

And in another post: ‘Because today we did a good attack, we did a big discount now.’

Despite the claims, Spanish authorities have pushed back against the idea of a cyberattack. As reported by Morocco World News: ‘Spanish electricity grid operator REE (REDE.MC) had reportedly ruled out a cybersecurity breach as the reason behind Spain’s power outage.’

The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) has also said there’s currently no data confirming a cyberattack was responsible.

Spain’s national criminal court, the Audiencia Nacional in Madrid, has not ruled out the possibility of a cyberattack. A statement was issued saying: ‘Cyberterrorism is among the possible explanations.’

Leakd, an online cyber monitoring site, echoed the concern, stating that NoName057 has ‘previously been linked to operations targeting NATO-affiliated nations and institutions critical of Russian foreign policy.’

It also noted that both groups are ‘well-known cybercriminal collectives.’

As authorities continue their investigation, the implications of a proven cyberattack could be significant. Leakd noted that if confirmed, it could ‘mark one of the most significant digital assaults on civilian infrastructure in Europe…’

For now, power has been largely restored, but isolated issues remain, and the question of what – or who really caused the outage remains unanswered. TELL US WHAT YOU THINK

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