Several Ukrainian government sites were targeted on Friday January 14 by a large-scale cyberattack. This aggression, the origin of which is currently unknown, took place in a context where Ukraine and its Western allies have repeatedly accused Moscow of carrying out computer attacks against their sites and infrastructures, which Russia defends. For this new attack, however, the Ukrainian authorities have not yet formulated charges.
→ READ. European Union to sanction perpetrators of external cyberattacks
The websites of ministries, including those for foreign affairs and emergency situations, were notably inaccessible on Friday morning. However, the authorities did not indicate whether IT infrastructure was also deactivated or disrupted. “The websites of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a number of other government agencies are temporarily out of service”, said the spokesperson for Ukrainian diplomacy. “Our experts are hard at work to restore the functioning of the computer systems and the police have opened an investigation”, he added.
Before the Foreign Ministry’s website was made inaccessible, a threatening message was posted by the perpetrators of the cyberattack on its homepage in Ukrainian, Russian and Polish. “Ukrainians, be afraid and prepare for the worst. All your personal data has been uploaded to the web », could we read, according to an AFP correspondent. This message was accompanied by several logos, including a crossed out Ukrainian flag.
No data leaks noted according to Ukrainian intelligence
Any “Personal data leak” was not noticed immediately after the cyberattack, however, announced the country’s intelligence services. According to the services, the authorities have also suspended the operation of other government sites, “In order to prevent the spread of attacks” and for “Locate the problem”.
The hack comes amid growing tensions between Ukraine and neighboring Russia, which Kiev and its allies accuse of planning a new invasion of Ukrainian territory. A large-scale computer attack targeting Ukrainian strategic infrastructures in order to disrupt the authorities is one of the scenarios mentioned as being the harbinger of a classic military offensive.
History in recent years
Ukraine has been the target of cyber attacks on Russia several times in recent years, notably in 2017 against several critical infrastructures and in 2015 against its electricity network.
American justice revealed in October to have indicted six Russian military intelligence agents for these cyberattacks but also for others around the world such as those which targeted the party of current French President Emmanuel Macron before the 2017 presidential election. and the 2018 Olympics in South Korea. These Russian hackers, aged 27 to 35, are accused of operating between 2015 and 2019 from an army building dubbed ” Tower “, in Moscow, “For the strategic benefit of Russia”, according to the American indictment.
The European Union condemned the cyberattack of this Friday and announced to mobilize all its means to help Kiev, by the voice of the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell.
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