The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has confirmed that dozen of its Government websites have been a target of a massive cyber-attack
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has confirmed that dozen of its Government websites have been a target of a massive cyber-attack with threatening text warning Ukrainians to “be afraid and wait for the worst” and alleging their personal information has been hacked.
The hacked websites include websites of ministerial cabinet, the foreign ministry, education, agriculture, emergency, energy, veterans’ affairs and environment ministries. Also, the website of State Treasury and the Diia electronic public services platform, where vaccination certificates and electronic passports are stored, were also hacked.
After the websites were hacked, a message was displayed on the Foreign Ministry website which read, “Ukrainians! All your personal data has been uploaded to the public network.”
It further read, “All data on your computer is being erased and won’t be recoverable. All information about you has become public, fear and expect the worst.”
Ukraine had earlier warned that cyber-attacks and other efforts to destabilise the country would be a prelude to further aggression. It had also said that as per their intelligence, Russia will invade Ukraine by the end of January 2022. However, Russia has denied any intentions of invading Ukraine.
Taking it to twitter, the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson – Oleg Nikolenko tweeted,
As a result of a massive cyber attack, the websites of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a number of other government agencies are temporarily down. Our specialists have already started restoring the work of IT systems, and the cyberpolice has opened an investigation.
— Oleg Nikolenko (@OlegNikolenko_) January 14, 2022
The message left by hackers, posted in Ukrainian, Russian and Polish, read, “This is for your past, present and future. For Volyn, for the OUN UPA [Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists/Ukrainian Insurgent Army], for Halychyna, for Polissya and for historical lands.”
Comments at the end of the message referred to Ukrainian insurgent fighters during the second world war and appeared to chastise Ukraine for ethnic clashes and atrocities. Poland and Ukraine accuse each other of committing atrocities during the period in the region, which the countries have jostled over for centuries.
The hackers also posted defaced images of Ukraine’s national symbols, with a line across the flag, coat of arms and a map of the country. It’s not clear if the hackers are Polish or if this was an attempt to incite divisions between Ukraine and Poland.
The U.S. has said it is monitoring everything that Russia is going to be doing towards Ukraine. The High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy – Josep Borrell Fontelles also said that Europe will mobilise all it’s resources to help Ukraine tackle this cyber-attack.
