Ukraine says evidence suggests Russia behind cyberattack
Ukraine has said it has evidence that Russia was behind a cyberattack that defaced its government websites and alleged that Moscow is engaged in an increasing “hybrid war” against it.
“All evidence indicates that Russia is behind the cyberattack,” the Ministry of Digital Development said in a statement on Sunday, a day after Microsoft said dozens of computer systems at an unspecified number of Ukrainian government agencies had been infected with destructive malware disguised as ransomware.
That disclosure suggested the attention-grabbing defacement attack on official websites last week was a diversion.
“Moscow continues to wage a hybrid war and is actively building up its forces in the information and cyberspaces,” read the statement.
The attack comes as Russia faces accusations of having massed some 100,000 soldiers close to the Ukrainian border, as it seeks a commitment from the West that the former Soviet state will never join NATO.
Senior Russian and US officials this week held talks in Geneva but there was no hint of any breakthrough, with Washington warning by the end of the week Moscow could stage a false flag operation within weeks to precipitate an invasion.
Russia has repeatedly been warned by Western powers of “massive” consequences if it were to attack Ukraine again, although these would likely take the form of sanctions rather than any military riposte.
Source: Al Jazeera