Ukraine | Massive cyberattack on government websites

Defence Redefined

Published on 15/01/2022 at 16:00

A massive cyberattack hit Ukrainian government websites very late on Thursday (14/01), rendering some of them, such as the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, inaccessible. According to a statement from the Ukrainian security service SBU, a total of 70 government websites were targeted.

“Ukrainian! All your personal data has been uploaded to the public network. All data on the computer is corrupted, it is impossible to restore it. All the information about you has become public, be afraid and expect the worst. This applies to your past, your present, and your future.”

This was the message that appeared on the attacked government websites, written in Ukrainian, Russian and Polish. However, the Ukrainian government assured that the content of the sites has not been changed during the cyberattacks and no personal data was leaked, while their restoration is proceeding smoothly.

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The first signs indicate the possible involvement and action of hackers cooperating with the Russian secret services, according to Ukrainian security officials. In addition, experts from the Ukrainian Ministry of Intelligence published a timeline of how the news of the attack spread, noting that the Russian media reported it before Ukrainian media.

Ukraine has been targeted several times by hackers in recent years, with these attacks being attributed to Russia. Typical examples are the attacks in 2017, against various critical infrastructures, and in 2015 against an electricity transmission network.

The United States, NATO, and the European Union have strongly condemned the attack and reaffirmed their support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and Russia has not commented on the incident. 

It is worth noting that the cyber attack took place a few hours after the end of the talks in Vienna on security issues between Russian and Western officials, which, although carried out – according to the participants – with professionalism, did not bring any substantial progress.

Source: AMNA, BBC, Reuters

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