A computer keyboard illuminated by a displayed cybercode can be seen in this illustration, made on March 1, 2017. REUTERS / Kacper Pempel / Illustration / File Photo
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June 9 (Reuters) – Russia warned the West on Thursday that cyberattacks on its infrastructure risk direct military confrontation and that attempts to provoke Moscow in the cyberspace will be met with targeted countermeasures.
The warning comes after the Russian Ministry of Housing’s website appears to have been hacked over the weekend, with an Internet search of the site leading to “Glory to Ukraine” in Ukrainian. Read more
In a statement, the foreign ministry said Russia’s critical infrastructure and state institutions had been affected by cyberattacks, citing responsible figures in the United States and Ukraine.
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“Be assured that Russia will not leave unanswered aggressive actions,” the statement said. “All our steps will be measured, targeted, in accordance with our legislation and international law.”
A statement issued by the ministry’s head of international information security said Washington was “deliberately lowering the threshold for combat use” of IT.
“The militarization of the information space by the West and attempts to turn it into an arena of interstate confrontation have significantly increased the threat of a direct military confrontation with unpredictable consequences,” the report said.
The websites of many state-owned companies and news organizations have undergone sporadic hacking attempts since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, often to show information that contradicted Moscow’s official position on the conflict.
Moscow says it is conducting a “special military operation” in the neighboring country to disarm it and protect it from the Nazis. Ukraine and Western countries reject Russia’s claims as a pretext for an illegal invasion.
President Vladimir Putin said in May that the number of cyber attacks against Russia by foreign “state structures” had increased several times and called on the country to strengthen its IT security. Read more
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Reuters report; Edited by Mark Trevelyan and Jonathan Oatis
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