Ukraine’s official websites hit by hack amid high tensions with Russia

KYIV, UKRAINE — Ukraine reported a targeted hack of government websites Friday amid a deepening crisis with Russia and left experts puzzling over the ominous message left by the hackers: “Be afraid and expect the worst.”

Ukraine officials said it was too early to say who was behind the hack — which Ukraine described as “massive” — but noted Russia had been behind similar attacks before. Analysts said the defacements may be the work of non-state agents, or hacktivists, noting that vandalizing government websites was not a sweeping or sophisticated hacking operation.

But at least one Ukrainian agency, the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security, openly blamed Russia, linking it to Russia’s efforts to block Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO.

In a statement, Ukraine’s cyber police said that 10 of the roughly 70 sites that were attacked experienced an “intrusion” but that the sites’ contents were “not altered and no personal data was leaked.” Officials also said that there was a “high probability” it was a “supply-chain attack” in which hackers first entered through the system of a commercial company.

The timing of the attack also elevated worries in Ukraine. It came a day after the latest round of diplomatic efforts in Europe failed to deter Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine or persuade Moscow to de-escalate. Russia stood firm on its demands, including that NATO block Ukraine from possibly joining the military alliance and end military aid to Ukraine.

Russia has up to 100,000 troops massed on the Ukrainian border, prompting fears of an invasion. Russia insists it has no plans to launch a major military escalation against Ukraine, where the Kyiv government has battled Russian-backed separatists in the eastern region of Donbas since 2014. But U.S. officials have raised alarms that Moscow could be laying the groundwork for military action.

In Washington, the Biden administration asserted Friday that Russia has sent operatives into eastern Ukraine in preparation for potential sabotage operations that would serve as a pretext for invasion, according to a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity under ground rules established by the Biden administration.

Yet Russia also offered a hand Friday to the United States with the arrest of 14 alleged members of the REvil ransomware gang and announced that it had eliminated the group at the request of Washington.

The Russia-based REvil gang has carried out numerous attacks on major global companies, including the July attack on software provider Kaseya and the May attack on the world’s biggest meat-processing business, JBS. Former REvil associates also are believed to be responsible for the May cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline that led to gas shortages on the U.S. East Coast.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/01/14/ukraine-russia-cyber-attack/