The tension between Russia and Ukraine has turned the eyes of the whole world to the two countries. While wondering where the tension in the region will lead, a major cyber attack was organized by hackers against Ukraine’s state institutions.
WEBSITES DISABLED
Hackers attacked the websites of state institutions in Ukraine. Hackers have temporarily disabled sites. It was also seen that warning messages were left on the sites by hackers.
The hackers placed the message “Ukrainian! All your personal data has been uploaded to publicly accessible networks. All data on the computer has been deleted and it is not possible to recover this data” in Ukrainian, Russian and Polish.
“EXPECT AND FEAR THE WORST”
The message also included the statement “All information about you has been shared, expect the worst and fear it. This is your past, present and future”.
The websites of institutions such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the council of ministers and the security and defense council were among those targeted.
However, the government said that no content on the sites was altered and no personal data was leaked.
“A GREAT CYBER ATTACK”
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko described the incident as a “major cyberattack”.
“Our experts have begun to restore the operation of information technology systems,” said the spokesperson, noting that the police against cybercrime had launched an investigation.
The attack is seen as quite significant, given the escalating tensions in the region.
IS RUSSIA RESPONSIBLE?
While the culprit for today’s cyberattacks is unknown, officials are already suggesting that Russia may be responsible.
“It’s too early to draw conclusions, but Russia has long-running attacks on Ukraine,” a ministry spokesperson told Sky News.
Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union (EU) Foreign Relations and Security Policy, stated that “he has no proof as to who is responsible” and said “we can only guess who is behind this”.