‘Massive cyber attack’ hits Ukraine government websites as tensions with Russia escalate

Alex Castro illustrated thechorus image.

A number of Ukrainian government websites were attacked on Friday, with hackers disabling them and warning readers to be afraid and expect the worse.

According to reports from Sky News, the foreign ministry of Ukraine described the incident as a massive cyber attack, but noted that no personal data had been leaked.

The websites for the government's cabinet, security and defense council, and ministry for education were affected. The cyber police opened an investigation after the specialists were able to restore the work of IT systems.

Russian troops have been on the border for a while.

The attacks are significant because of the tensions in the region. Western intelligence agencies warn that a full-blown invasion by Russia could be imminent, as 100,000 Russian troops are currently gathered on the borders of Ukraine. Russian troops have occupied areas of the country since the beginning of the year.

Officials are suggesting that Russia may be behind the cyberattacks. There is a long record of Russian assaults against Ukraine, a Ukrainian government spokesman told Sky News. Josep Borrell, the EU's head of foreign affairs, told reporters this morning that he has no evidence who was behind the attack, but that they can imagine who was behind it.

During the 2008 invasion of Georgia, Russia deployed cyberattacks as a way to prepare. Georgian government sites and web infrastructure were targets of cyberattacks before Russian troops took control of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Attacks spiked after the Russian annexation of the peninsula. The intent of attacks can be as much to sow confusion as it is to interrupt critical services.

Messages were posted in Ukrainian, Polish, and Russian as part of the attacks on the government websites. "Ukrainian!" Your data was uploaded to the public network. It is impossible to restore the data on the computer. All information about you has become public and you should be afraid. This is for your past, present and future.

Sky News reported that the EU has called an emergency meeting to respond to the attacks.