They told Express.co.uk: “First, the relationship between the UK and Russia obviously isn’t in a good state.
“Secondly, the modus operandi of the attack – namely, DDos – is commonly used by Russian-backed cyber attackers.
“But what’s also important to note here is that it is an attack on the Royal Family.”
The expert went on to stress that the attack was not a “mere smokescreen for another attack” because the Royal Family is “too small” for this to be the case.
And he added: “An attack on the Royal Family would be a typical move of Russia, focused on instilling fear and uncertainty. They understand that anything royal is newsworthy and any form of attack here would hit the very foundations upon which the UK is built.”
The expert said Russia’s culture and perspective is to cause “unease”.
Deryck Michelson, Field CISO at Check Point Software, agreed on the fact this was a deliberate attack and said: “It is always difficult to distinguish between nation-state sponsored or simple disruptive attacks.
“Royal websites, along with government websites, are high profile targets and deliver bragging rights when they are successfully taken offline.”
The expert added that KillMilk doesn’t normally attack websites as part of a smokescreen, because “their aim is to cause disruption in the most public way.”
But another expert suggested the attack was “opportunistic”.
Raj Samani, SVP and Chief Scientist at Rapid7, told Express.co.uk: “Why would someone target the Royal Family? That is a question for the perpetrator of the attack, but in most cases, it is simply opportunistic.”
Martin Jartelius, CSO at Outpost24 agreed and said even though it might not have been of military importance, the actual attack served a purpose.
He said: “The border between propaganda, destabilization and cyber vandalism is slim to non-existent in many cases like this. Is it of military importance? No. Is it a sign of skill or power? Hardly, if you know how it’s carried out.
“But can it carry a psychological impact as it targets a high-profile symbol of the nation? Yes. So it fits a purpose.”
