Microsoft made public on Saturday night the information that it discovered the presence of a malware on dozens of Ukrainian government computers. This is rogue software that can be used to render equipment inoperable.
The tech giant reported the discovery through your official blog, noting that it was first detected on Thursday (13), a date that coincides with a cyberattack against Ukraine government websites. Russian officials say they have evidence that the attack was Russian-involved.
According to the company’s investigators, the software was designed to look like a ransomware – code that freezes all computer functions and data, typically requiring a payment in return. However, there is no infrastructure to accept cash, leading Microsoft to conclude that the goal is to inflict maximum damage and not raise money.
The attack comes amid heightened tensions between Kiev and Moscow, which maintain troops on both sides of the border. The root of the diplomatic conflict would be the possible accession of countries that made up the Soviet Union, such as Ukraine and Georgia, to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which the Russians see as a threat.
Commenting on the episode, the newspaper The New York Times recalled that, in 2014, Russian intelligence agencies had tried, without success, to change the outcome of the Ukrainian elections, through a cyberattack on the Central Electoral Commission of Ukraine. In 2015, the first of two major attacks on Ukraine’s electricity grid turned off lights for hours in different parts of the country, including Kiev, the capital.
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