Ukrainian government websites hit by massive cyberattack
-
Loading... - iris myanew
- 14 Jan 2022
- 417 Views
- 0 Like
- 0 Comment
Kyiv on Friday reported a massive cyberattack on key government websites as tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine escalate following several rounds of unsuccessful talks.
The Education Ministry said on Facebook that its website was down due to a "global (cyber) attack" that had taken place overnight. Other websites that were down included that of the Cabinet and the foreign and emergencies ministries.
According to the Ukrainskaya Pravda newspaper, websites of the country's Cabinet, seven ministries, the Treasury, the National Emergency Service and the state services website, where Ukrainians' electronic passports and vaccination certificates are stored, were unavailable as a result of the hack. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Foreign Ministry website temporarily displayed a message in Ukrainian, Russian and Polish that appeared to suggest the attack was in response to Ukraine's pro-Western stance. It also claimed that all personal information of the country's residents is uploaded to the "public network" and all data on computers will allegedly be destroyed without the possibility of recovery.
"Ukrainians! All your personal data has been uploaded to the public network. All data on the computer was destroyed and is impossible to restore. All information about you has become public, be afraid and expect the worst. This is for your past, present and future, for Volyn, OUN, UPA, Galitsia, Polesye and for historical lands," it said, referring to ultra-nationalist organizations and regions of Ukraine.
The Education Ministry said that authorities – including the SBU security service and cyberpolice – were working to address the issue.
The content of Ukraine's government websites was not changed during the recent cyberattack and no personal data was leaked, the government said Friday. It added in a statement that a number of other government websites had been suspended to prevent the attack from spreading to other resources but most of the affected state resources had already been restored.
"It's too early to draw conclusions, but there is a long record of Russian assaults against Ukraine in the past," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko said, answering a question on who is behind the attack. A top Ukrainian security official told Reuters: "All subjects of cyber security were aware of such possible provocations by the Russian Federation. Therefore, the response to these incidents is carried out as usual."
On Dec. 21, the New York Times reported that the United States and Britain had secretly sent a team of cybersecurity experts to Ukraine. It claimed that the West wants to help Kyiv to be prepared for alleged cyberattacks.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned on Friday the attack and said the EU's political and security committee would convene for an urgent meeting on the attack, which he added "merits condemnation."
"We are going to mobilize all our resources to help Ukraine to tackle this cyber attack. Sadly, we knew it could happen," Borrell told reporters at an EU foreign ministers meeting in the western French city of Brest. "It's difficult to say (who is behind it). I can't blame anybody as I have no proof, but we can imagine." Read More…
