False flag

A false flag is a cyber attack that tries to pin the blame for a malicious campaign on a particular entity, organization, or state. A number of tools are used to link the covert operation to the target entity. For example, blocks of code known to have been developed by this entity can be embedded in the code of the malware used in the campaign.

Disinformation can be used to protect the campaign masterminds, or it might be the primary purpose of the operation, while destructive actions only draw attention to the incident.