Important websites of the Ukrainian government were reportedly hit by cyberattacks as Russian forces mobilised in the separatist regions of Ukraine. As per reports, official websites of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine along with ministries of education, infrastructure foreign affairs among others were found to be shut down. As per a report by CNN “a data-wiping tool was found on hundreds of computers in Ukraine”.
The report claimed that cybersecurity researchers hinted at a cyberattack from Russia where the country is said to be spreading potent malware.
CNN in its report quoted Charles Carmakal, senior vice president and chief technology officer for cybersecurity firm Mandian saying “We are aware of multiple commercial and government organisations in Ukraine impacted by the destructive malware today.”
There is no confirmation from the Ukrainian government regarding the latest hacks but cyberattacks have been a part of this “campaign”. “The hack hit at least one Ukrainian financial institution and one Ukrainian government contractor with a presence in Latvia according to the report.
The State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine had earlier said that these were in “continuation” with the cyberattacks that took place on February 15. Ukrainian government websites have been a target for quite some time now. The US government is blaming the Russian military intelligence agency– GRU– for these cyberattacks but Russia has denied these claims made by Americans.
Talking about the data-wiping tool, it has been reported that cyberattacks are coordinated by using wiper malware. This is quite a potent malware that can delete all files from PCs and render them out of service. This malware is said to target “large organisations” in the Ukraine. The report further claims that the “hacking tool” was newly made around two months back. It “was deployed only today and we have seen it only in Ukraine,” Jean-Ian Boutin, head of threat research ESET told CNN.
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