Ukraine, Europe Brief News – According to a Ukrainian Security Officer, a hacker gang associated with Belarusian Intelligence conducted a cyberattack this week. It was conducted against Ukrainian websites, using malware identical to a team linked to Russian intelligence.
Ukraine accused Friday’s attack – which damaged government sites with frightening statements – on a team called UNC1151 and said it was a covering for more disruptive acts behind the curtains, according to Serhiy Demedyuk, deputy secretary of the national security and defence council.
His remarks represent Kyiv’s first in-depth examination of the alleged perpetrators of the assault on numerous websites. Officials indicated on Friday that; Russia was most likely engaged but provided no other specifics. Belarus is a significant Russian ally.
At a moment when Russia has clustered forces on Ukraine’s borders, and Kyiv and Washington believe Moscow is plotting a fresh military attack on Ukraine, the attack splattered websites with caution to “be scared and anticipate the worst.”
Russia rejected such suspicions as “unfounded.”
A request for a response on Demedyuk’s statements didn’t return by the administration of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
A request for information from Russia’s foreign ministry was also not promptly returned. It has repeatedly denied being involved in assaults, including those directed against Ukraine.
TRACK RECORD OF HACKER GROUP:
Demedyuk, who formerly served as the chief of Ukraine’s cyber police, claimed the gang has a history of attacking Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, and Ukraine and spreading disinformation about NATO’s position in Europe.
“The harmful malware used to lock certain government computers has very similar traits to that employed by the ATP-29 gang,” he added, referring to the group accused of stealing the Democratic National Committee before the 2016 presidential election in the United States.
“The gang excels in computer crimes and is affiliated with the Russian intelligence programs and relies upon recruitment or disguised work of its personnel in the proper firm for its attacks,” Demedyuk added.
On Friday – they posted statements on Ukrainian websites in three different languages: Ukrainian, Russian, and Polish. They were referring to Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, in which the Ukrainian National Army committed out public exterminations in Nazi-occupied Poland (UPA). The incident continues to be a source of friction between Poland and Ukraine.
The hackers, according to Demedyuk, utilized Google Translate for the Polish version.
“While it is clear that they were unable to deceive anybody using this crude manner, there is proof that the attackers ‘played’ with Polish-Ukrainian ties.”
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