Numerous government websites Ukraine were the target of a cyberattack on Friday, although authorities assured that no major damage was caused, in an incident that occurs amid heightened tensions between Kiev and Moscow.
(Read here: The reasons why Europe faces the greatest risk of war in 30 years)
Ukraine and its Western allies have repeatedly accused Moscow of perpetrating computer attacks against their sites and infrastructure, something that Russia denies. The websites of several ministries, including the Foreign Affairs and Emergency Situations ministries, were inaccessible on Friday morning, AFP found.
(Also: President of Ukraine calls for summit to ‘end conflict’ in his country)
“As a result of a massive attack, the sites of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a number of other government agencies are temporarily out of service,” the spokesman for Ukrainian diplomacy said.
The Education Ministry said on Facebook that its website was down due to a “global attack” overnight from Thursday to Friday. Before the Foreign Ministry’s website was blocked, the perpetrators of the cyberattack posted a threatening message on its home page in Ukrainian, Russian and Polish.
“Ukrainians, be afraid and prepare for the worst. All your personal details have been made public,” it read, according to an AFP correspondent. The message was accompanied by several logos, including a crossed out Ukrainian flag.
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Authorities say no personal data was leaked
However, the Ukrainian authorities reported that no personal data was leaked. “The content of the sites did not change and, according to available information, there was no leakage of personal data,” the Ukrainian secret services (SBU) assured.
“A large part of the government resources that were affected have been restored, and the others will be accessible again very soon,” they continued. Some websites were voluntarily disabled to prevent “the spread of attacks,” they added.
Ukrainians, be afraid and prepare for the worst. All your personal data has been made public
At the moment, the authorship of the attack has not been claimed and Kiev has not accused anyone. The European Union condemned the incident and his head of diplomacy, Josep Borrell, promised to mobilize “all resources” to help overcome the sabotage.
The cyberattack takes place in a context of growing tensions between Ukraine and Russia, whom Kiev and its allies accuse of planning a new invasion of Ukrainian territory.
One of the hypotheses being considered as a harbinger of a military offensive is that of a major computer attack against Ukrainian strategic infrastructures to disorganize the authorities.
Ukraine has been the target of cyberattacks on several occasions in recent years attributed to Russia, such as in 2017 against various critical infrastructures and in 2015 against its power grid.
Military exercises on the eastern border of Ukraine
Western countries accuse Russia of deploying tanks, artillery and some 100,000 troops to Ukraine’s eastern border in recent weeks in what NATO sees as preparation for an invasion. But Moscow says it has no plans to invade Ukraine.
Several meetings were held this week between Russian and Western officials to try to defuse the crisis with Ukraine, but to no avail.
Moscow again assured that it had no “intention” to invade neighboring
Ukraine and ended the discussions stating that he saw no reason to resume the dialogue quickly.
In this tense context, the Russian Ministry of Defense published on Friday images of military maneuvers with 2,500 soldiers and a hundred tanks about 50 km from the Ukrainian border.
Russia invaded and annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in 2014, after a pro-Western revolution took place in the former Soviet republic. Moscow is also widely seen as the military and financial backer of pro-Russian separatists at war with Ukrainian authorities in the country’s east, a conflict that has left more than 13,000 dead.
EU warns Russia of robust response to crisis in Ukraine
European foreign ministers warned this Friday with a robust response to Russia, suspecting that the recent cyber attack against Ukraine could be the prologue to military action.
The scenario is “more serious than anything we have seen in recent years,” Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg told reporters.
European governments keep alive the hope of convincing the Russian president Vladimir Putin to abandon their plans on Ukraine, but began to prepare responses to Moscow.
“We have the will to deter Russia, and a convergence of analysis, a collective determination to act, and the desire to make the European Union heard” (EU), said French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, during an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brest.
For his part, a European minister told AFP that “sanctions are on the table. The conviction is that the risk of a Russian intervention in Ukraine is real and we must be prepared to react.” “We should not take weeks to reach an agreement, as happened with the annexation of Crimea in 2014,” added that source.
That official added that further discussion is planned at the formal meeting of ministers scheduled for January 24 in Brussels.
“Putin is a chess player,” noted a European leader. “It’s unpredictable, but [sabe que] now is the right time to act, because if you wait, Ukraine will be stronger.”
Swedish Chancellor Ann Linde said “this is exactly the kind of thing we had warned about, and feared.” Europeans keep alive the hope of a path to dialogue and diplomacy.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will travel to Moscow next week for talks “at all levels.” “Diplomacy, especially in times of crisis, is characterized by great perseverance, great patience and strong nerves,” he said.
AFP
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