Ukraine’s Cyberpolice said in a statement published by AFP that it was possible the hackers planned to strike during “large-scale events,” an apparent reference either to the match between Real Madrid and Liverpool in the capital Kiev on Sunday morning (AEST), or to the country’s upcoming Constitution Day celebrations.
What precisely was in the works remains unclear.
Cisco said it published its findings early — but researchers said that at least 500,000 devices had been hijacked by the malicious software they dubbed VPNFilter.
“The damage possible with that many infected machines is hard to precisely quantify,” said Craig Williams, the director of outreach for Talos, Cisco’s digital threat intelligence unit. “Suffice to say it could be a significant threat to users around the world.”
However, Liverpool have released their 24-man squad for the Champions League final against Real Madrid in Kiev.
The Reds will depart Merseyside on Thursday afternoon for the European showpiece before beginning their preparations in Ukraine.
Jurgen Klopp took training on Thursday morning before the players had lunch and set off for John Lennon Airport.
Liverpool will arrive in the Ukrainian capital at around 7.30pm local time where the squad will sit down to dinner together.
The Reds will then train at the NOSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, the venue for the final, on Friday night before the match on Saturday.
Liverpool squad: Karius, Clyne, Van Dijk, Wijnaldum, Lovren, Milner, Firmino, Salah, Henderson, Klavan, Moreno, Mane, Lallana, Mignolet, Can, Robertson, Ings, Solanke, Phillips, Jones, Ward, Woodburn, Camacho, Alexander-Arnold.
