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The websites of the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers, and those of the ministries of foreign affairs, infrastructure, education and others, were experiencing disruptions.
In a separate and potentially more serious hacking incident hours earlier, a data-wiping tool was found on hundreds of computers in Ukraine, according to cybersecurity researchers, raising concerns that a destructive cyberattack was unfolding amid Russia’s military escalation.
“We are aware of multiple commercial and government organizations in Ukraine impacted by the destructive malware today,” Charles Carmakal, senior vice president and chief technology officer for cybersecurity firm Mandiant, told CNN.
The website disruptions early Thursday in Ukraine followed news Wednesday afternoon of a cyberattack that temporarily knocked offline the websites of the Ukrainian parliament, Security Service and Cabinet of Ministers.
It wasn’t immediately clear who was responsible for the destructive hacking incidents, or the website disruptions early Thursday morning. The Ukrainian government did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
But taken together, the incidents represented an apparent escalation in cyberattacks on Ukrainian infrastructure as the US and its allies warned of an imminent Russian invasions and slapped sanctions on Russian banks and elites.
The State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine said the cyberattacks on websites reported earlier Wednesday were “a continuation” of cyberattacks that hit Ukrainian government websites on February 15. The White House blamed Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, for those hacks. Russia’s embassy in Washington denied the accusation.
Of all the incidents, though, the data-wiping tool — known as “wiper” malware — had the potential to be the most impactful. Wiper malware typically deletes data from computers and renders them inoperable.
The hack hit at least one Ukrainian financial institution and one…
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Source : cnn
