The Ukrainska Pravda portal reported that the cyberattack carried out by Russian hackers suspended the functioning of key systems with Ukrainian state registers. The hackers claim that they destroyed all data they had access to, including backup copies that were located on servers in Poland.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Ukraine Olha Stefaniszyna stated that the cyberattack led to the temporary suspension of the registers governed by her ministry. It was determined that the attack was organized by Russian hackers to disrupt the functioning of key government services.
“Currently, together with a team and specialists from other services, we are coordinating efforts to counteract the cyberattack and restore systems. It is already clear that the attack was carried out by the Russians in order to disrupt the operation of the state's critical infrastructure,” Stefaniszyna said on Facebook.
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The Russians attacked the registers of civil status and real estate deeds, as well as the register of legal persons and individual entrepreneurs. It will take two weeks to restore normal operation of these websites.
The hackers who claimed responsibility for the attack say they stole and deleted a total of over a billion rows of data, including data stored in Poland.
Doubts surrounding the attack on backup servers
At the press conference, Stefaniszyna avoided answering the question about possible cyber attacks on the Ukrainian backup server located in Poland. – Our servers are not located in one place. It was a massive attack on the entire infrastructure. I don't want to comment on the details now, she said.
– The enemy is trying to use this situation in its information operations to sow panic among citizens of Ukraine and abroad, said Stefanishyna, who as deputy prime minister oversees European and Euro-Atlantic integration and heads the Ministry of Justice.
Russia carried out a cyber attack on Ukrainian state registersShutterstock
The Polish Ministry of Digitization does not confirm whether data on backup servers in Poland was destroyed. However, it indicated that the Ukrainian side manages its IT systems in Poland, and the Polish side does not have access to them, including the data processed in them.
“The entire responsibility for managing, monitoring and controlling the infrastructure and processed information rests solely with the Ukrainian side. Therefore, we cannot confirm whether there was an attack on backup servers in Poland,” the ministry added in a comment.
Cyber attack on Ukrainian state registers
The largest cyber attack on Ukrainian state registers has been prepared for several months, the Security Service of Ukraine announced at a press conference. The SBU added that it could not provide details about its preparation.
It was reported that criminal proceedings had been initiated in connection with the cyber attack, and a hacker group of Russian military intelligence may be behind the attack.
All registers are currently suspended. The SBU was unable to answer whether the enemy gained access to information from the registers.
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