Russia responsible for national cyberattack, Ukraine security service says

The Federal Security Service of Russia (FSB) was
responsible for the June 27 cyberattack releasing the Petya.A virus that
destroyed data and disabled government and corporate computers throughout
Ukraine on June 27, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported on July 1.
With its attack, which was planned ahead of a holiday, the FSB’s goal was to
set off a virus to destroy important government data and to destabilize the
social and political situation in Ukraine entirely. The hackers involved were
the same as those who attacked Ukraine’s financial, transport and energy
institutions in December 2016, the SBU said.

Besides shutting down the work of private financial
institutions, the June 27 cyberattack disabled the computers of the Cabinet of
Ministers of Ukraine and electronic communication of the Chernobyl atomic
energy station.

The Petya.A virus was developed by the U.S. National
Security Agency (NSA) and stolen by hackers, reported the New York Times on
June 30, citing anonymous sources. These hackers, using the pseudonym Shadow
Brokers, began to sell access to the virus in April. An NSA spokesman refused
to comment on these claims, the report said.

Zenon Zawada: It’s hard to
find any entity as interested in harming Ukraine’s cybersecurity as the Russian
government, considering the ongoing warfare in Donbas. With Russia facing
heightening economic pressure from Western sanctions, and being reluctant to intensify
the military aggression at this moment, the government could have expanded its
war against Ukraine to new fronts, including cyberspace.

Ukraine’s government can
expect similar attacks in the future, with the potential to do similar damage.
We expect such attacks to get Western institutions even more concerned about
the conflict in Ukraine, given the heightened potential for damage that can
extend beyond Ukraine’s borders. In particular, the prospect of Chernobyl’s
stability being threatened is sure to draw more involvement of Western
officials in Ukraine’s geopolitical situation.