This cyberattack was carried out in the early hours of Friday and targeted the websites of several Ukrainian ministries, which were inaccessible for several hours.
“To this day, all evidence indicates that Russia is behind the cyberattack,” the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation said in a statement.
This sabotage”It is the manifestation of the hybrid war that Russia has maintained in Ukraine since 2014″, asserted the official body, referring to the year of the annexation by the Kremlin of the peninsula of Crimea, which provoked the conflict in the eastern region between the Kiev forces and pro-Russian separatists, supported by Moscow.
Its objective “is not only to intimidate society”, but also “to destabilize the situation in Ukraine (…) undermining the confidence of the Ukrainians in terms of their power”, with “false information about the vulnerability of the infrastructures information systems of the State” and regarding “the (possible) leakage of personal data of Ukrainians”, according to the aforementioned ministry.
The cyberattack came amid heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine, with Kiev and its Western allies accusing Moscow of deploying troops to their border in preparation for an attack.
Experts believe that an eventual invasion would be preceded by acts of computer sabotage, with the aim of disorganizing the Ukrainian authorities.
In this unstable context, the expected return on Monday of the former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko (2014-2019) after a month of absence runs the risk of provoking a political crisis.
The main rival of current President Volodymyr Zelensky, Poroshenko is accused by Kiev of “high treason” for having negotiated with pro-Russian separatists in the east.
What’s more, Several talks this week between Russia and the West have failed to defuse tensions.
“In general, on a matter of principle, we can now say that we are on different paths, on totally different paths. And that is not good. It is disturbing,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said in an interview to be aired this week. Sunday by the American chain CNN.
The United States will make a statement at the beginning of the week on the future of the negotiations.
“If Russia wants to follow the diplomatic path, we are fully prepared (…) If Russia chooses the path of invasion and escalation, we are also prepared and will respond firmly,” the National Security Adviser warned on CBS. from the United States, Jake Sullivan. “We are prepared for all scenarios,” he added.
“It is important to understand that the aggressor is Russia”, declared on Sunday the secretary general of the OTAN, Jens Stoltenberg, to the Canadian public channel CBC. “Russia must initiate a de-escalation,” but we must also “send a message to Russia that we are willing to discuss and listen to their concerns,” he added.
The United States accused Russia on Friday of having introduced agents into Ukraine to carry out “sabotage” operations in order to invent a “pretext” to invade it, something Moscow denied.
Russia denies any plan of aggression against Ukraine, but demands “guarantees” for its security, starting with a NATO commitment not to accept Kiev as a member.
Microsoft warned this Sunday that this massive cyberattack could render the entire IT structure of the Ukrainian government inoperable.
Even though the detected ‘malware’ resembles ‘ransomware’, which generally blocks access to the computer demanding financial compensation, in reality in this case it would have the objective of “destroying and making the sites inoperable and not collect a ransom “, the American software giant noted on its blog.
Source From: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
