Kremlin alleges cyberattacks on SPIEF servers ahead of President Vladimir Putin's speech

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Friday alleged cyberattacks on St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) servers ahead of President Vladimir Putin's speech at the plenary session of the event. According to Peskov, the President's speech was postponed following the report of cyberattacks on the forum's accreditation base. He also warned that comprehensive actions will be taken to eradicate the impacts of cyberattacks in the country. The Kremlin spokesperson further stated that a massive Distributed Denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on Internet resources and the SPIEF accreditation system began on Thursday.

"Unfortunately, the database of forum participants and the accreditation system, as well as the badge admission system, was disrupted owing to intensified DDoS attacks," Peskov added, the TASS news agency reported. As a result, there was a snag in getting badges and confirmation of passage to the main plenary session, he claimed. "Specialists are now working to eliminate this problem. It is fixable. We will fix it, but this will take time. This is the situation, so we are waiting for the President's speech later in the day," Peskov noted. 

Russian hackers blamed for targeting German govt websites

Earlier in May, Russian hackers were implicated in a series of cyberattacks on the German government's official websites. According to reports, Russian hackers allegedly hacked the websites of the German Ministry of Defense, the Bundestag, the federal police, and several other federal departments. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's website was also reportedly down for a brief time. However, the Federal Information Security Administration claimed that such attacks are not technologically sophisticated and may be easily prevented with conventional methods. 

Russian President Putin advocates for a state-run information protection system

It is pertinent to mention here that Russian President Vladimir Putin has asked the country's Security Council to form a state-run information protection system. He also stressed the importance of establishing a state-run information security system in an attempt to protect domestic cyberspace. The Russian President noted that one of the most critical responsibilities is to improve the security of state information systems and communication networks. According to 2021 assessments, the majority of the resources operating in the country are subject to huge attacks and damaging external influences, particularly when using foreign technologies of the latest generation. 

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