In a significant breakthrough, Microsoft, an American multinational technology giant, has accused recent ransomware assaults on Ukrainian and Polish transportation and logistics organisations are being carried out by hackers associated with the Russian military. Notably, Poland is a part of NATO, and attacking one of its allies automatically invites a counterattack from other allies. Although NATO hasn’t officially responded to the current situation, those involved in the development told CNN that it was unlikely that the intergovernmental military alliance would take any action against Moscow.
Earlier in February, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that a cyberattack might activate the collective defence provision of the military alliance, compelling all members to fight against an assault on another member. But his comments had little impact. However, the most recent assault prompts serious worries in Washington and Europe, which have been aiding the war-torn Ukraine since since the Russian army entered in direct combat with Kyiv. According to a Microsoft spokesperson, the hacks ‘did cause damage’ to the Polish and Ukrainian transportation and logistics firms. It did not, however, go into detail about how extensive the harm was.
Ukraine-Russian conflict
According to a media report, Microsoft linked the hacks to a group it claims is affiliated with Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency and was responsible for power outages in parts of Ukraine in 2015 and 2016. It is important to note that Russia declared war on Ukraine almost two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a proclamation recognising the independence of the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Despite the West’s persistent forewarnings and conjectures about Putin’s ill-intentioned invasion of Ukraine, Putin took action.
The military campaign against Ukraine was launched by Russian forces on February 24. Since then, it has been bombing a number of Ukrainian cities, killing thousands of people. Russian hacking organisations have since launched many cyberattacks against the business and governmental networks in Ukraine. Hacker collective Anonymous had vowed to wage ‘electronic war’ against the ‘Kremlin’s criminal dictatorship’ in response to Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine. The hacking group claimed to have compromised 2,500 websites belonging to the state media of Belarus and Russia ‘in favour of Ukraine’.
Post Your Comments