09:55 15.01.2018

CIA says cyberattacks against Ukraine in 2017 committed by Russian military - Washington Post

1 min read
CIA says cyberattacks against Ukraine in 2017 committed by Russian military - Washington Post

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) believes that cyberattacks against Ukraine in 2017 were committed by Russian military hackers in order to disrupt the financial system of the Ukrainian state amid its ongoing war in Donbas with separatists loyal to the Kremlin, the Washington Post has said, citing a CIA report.

According to the statement, the CIA concluded with "high confidence" that a mock ransomware virus dubbed NotPetya, which attacked computers of Ukrainian banks, energy companies, airports and senior government officials in June 2017, was created by the military spy agency of the Russian Chief Intelligence Directorate (GRU).

At the same time, the Washington Post notes that the CIA declined to comment.

However, the newspaper recalls that the virus also affected computer systems in Denmark, India and the United States, but more than half of those victimized were in Ukraine.

"The attacks reflect Russia's mounting aggression in cyberspace as part of a larger 'hybrid warfare' doctrine that marries traditional military means with cyber-tools to achieve its goal of regional dominance," the newspaper quotes Robert Hannigan, former head of Britain's GCHQ intelligence agency, as saying.

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