Ukraine officials claimed on said Sunday that Russia was behind a cyberattack that defaced its government websites and alleged that Russia is engaged in an increasing “hybrid war” against its neighbour.
The statement from the ministry of digital development came a day after Microsoft said dozens of computer systems at an unspecified number of Ukrainian government agencies had been infected with destructive malware disguised as ransomware.
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That disclosure suggested the attention-grabbing defacement attack on official websites last week was a diversion.
“All evidence indicates that Russia is behind the cyberattack. Moscow continues to wage a hybrid war and is actively building up its forces in the information and cyberspaces,” the ministry statement said.
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The Russian invasion of Ukraine
The attack comes as the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine looms and diplomatic talks to resolve the tense standoff appear stalled.
In 2017, Russia targeted Ukraine with one of the most damaging cyberattacks on record with the NotPetya virus, causing about 10 billion euros in damage globally. That virus, also disguised as ransomware, was a so-called “wiper” that erased entire networks.
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