Ukraine accuses Russia of cyberattacks targeting multiple government websites

On Friday, multiple government websites of Ukraine were taken down, including the foreign ministry's, which Ukraine is blaming on Russia. Ukraine claimed on Sunday that Russia was behind a cyberattack that vandalised official websites and that Russia is increasingly engaging in a hybrid war with its neighbour. The declaration came a day after Microsoft announced that dozens of computer systems at an undefined number of Ukrainian government institutions had been attacked with damaging malware disguised as ransomware, AP reported.

Ukraine Ministry of Digital Transformation stated that every piece of evidence suggests that the cyberattack was carried out by Russia and that Moscow continues to conduct a hybrid war and is bolstering its forces in the information and cyberspaces. The ministry also announced that Ukrainians should not be alarmed because their personal information is safe with the government, according to ANI. However, the perpetrators claimed that they had destroyed data and published it online, which Ukrainian police denied. The strike comes as Russia threatens to invade Ukraine.

Russia's devastating cyberattacks in 2017

Oleh Derevianko, a leading private sector cybersecurity leader in Kyiv stated that attackers breached government networks via a shared software supplier in a supply-chain attack similar to the 2020 SolarWinds Russian cyberespionage effort that targeted the US government, according to AP News. Russia launched one of the most devastating cyberattacks on record on Ukraine in 2017, causing more than $10 billion in global damage.

Victor Zhora, the deputy chair of Ukraine's State Service of Special Communication and Information Protection said that the attack targeted about 70 websites of national and regional government agencies, but that no essential infrastructure was harmed and no personal data was stolen. On the other hand, the spokesperson of the Minister-Special Services Coordinator, Stanisław Żaryn stated that Poland also suspects Russian involvement in cyberattacks against Ukrainian government websites.

Kremlin refutes claims

Dmitry Peskov, who is the spokesperson of Kremlin claims that Russia had nothing to do with the incident and that such allegations were false, according to CNN. He went on to say that Moscow is almost used to Ukrainians blaming them for everything.

(Inputs from AP News/ ANI)

Image: AP/ Pixabay