A major Europol-led crackdown—Operation Eastwood—has disrupted one of the most active pro-Russian hacktivist collectives in Europe: NoName057(16). Known for a relentless barrage of DDoS attacks targeting NATO allies and Ukraine-supporting nations, this ideologically driven group ran a global network powered by gamified recruitment, cryptocurrency incentives, and Telegram coordination.
In this episode, we unpack:
- Who NoName057(16) is—and how their DDoS-for-crypto campaign operated
- The gamification of cyberwarfare, where young sympathizers earn crypto and badges for attacking government targets
- How Operation Eastwood led to arrests, infrastructure takedowns, and international arrest warrants
- Why DDoS remains a go-to weapon for hacktivists and state-aligned cyber actors
- The role of crypto on both sides of the Russia-Ukraine cyber conflict, from donations to evasion to digital mercenaries
- Why hacktivist groups are blurring the lines between ideology and cybercrime, and how they’re increasingly operating like decentralized ransomware gangs
We also explore the long-term implications:
- Can law enforcement really stop these groups?
- What happens when attackers are shielded by national borders or political alignment?
- And how should defenders prepare for digitally mobilized ideological threats with state-level reach?
This is cyberwar by proxy—crowdsourced, monetized, and harder than ever to pin down.
