“Ukrainian Security Service has obtained initial indications that groups of hackers linked to Russian intelligence may be behind today’s massive cyber attack,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Leg Nikolenko said on Twitter.
According to a statement issued by the Security Service (SBU), the attacks, which were carried out on Friday night, targeted 70 government websites.
Ten of these sites were subjected to “unauthorized interference”, according to the device, which confirmed that “their content has not been changed and there has been no leakage of personal data.”
Agence France-Presse confirmed that the websites of several government agencies, some of which belong to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Emergency Situations, were inaccessible.
Before access to the State Department’s website was disrupted, the hackers posted a threatening message on its homepage in Ukrainian, Russian and Polish.
The message read: “Ukrainians, fear and prepare for the worst. All your personal data has been uploaded to the Internet.” The letter was accompanied by several slogans, including a picture of a crossed out Ukrainian flag.
Ukraine has been subjected to several cyber attacks attributed to Russia in recent years, the most prominent of which occurred in 2017, targeting many vital infrastructure, and in 2015 against the electricity network.
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