Kyiv has accused Russia of staging a cyberattack against its government websites, saying Sunday that Moscow was seeking to “intimidate society” and “destabilize” Ukraine.
Unidentified hackers on Friday disabled the websites of several Ukrainian ministries, while Microsoft this weekend said that it had detected “destructive malware” in computer networks spanning “multiple government, non-profit, and information technology organizations, all based in Ukraine.”
In a statement Sunday, Ukraine’s digital development ministry blamed Moscow: “All evidence points to the fact that Russia is behind the cyberattack. Moscow continues to wage a hybrid war and is actively building up its forces in the information and cyberspaces.”
The digital ministry also sought to reassure Ukrainians that their personal data was safe. The cyberattack, it said, was an attempt to “not only intimidate society but also destabilize the situation in Ukraine by stopping the work of the public sector and undermining Ukrainians’ trust in the government.”
The hacking attack came as some 100,000 Russian troops are gathered on the Ukrainian border, sparking fears of a potential invasion. Diplomatic talks between the United States and Russia stalled earlier this week.
The EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell on Friday hinted at Russia’s involvement while promising to “mobilize all our resources to help Ukraine to face these cyberattacks.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN that Russia had “nothing to do with it.”
https://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 16, 2022 at 08:49PM
Zia Weise