Ukrainian Government Websites Forced Offline in "Massive" Cyber-Attack

Ukraine has been hit by a “massive” cyber-attack, forcing more than a dozen government websites offline, it has been reported today.

The attack, which also targeted the UK, US and Swedish embassies in Ukraine, is suspected to have been perpetrated by Russian threat actors amid significant tensions between the two nations.

The websites taken offline include the Ukrainian ministry of foreign affairs and the education ministry. Before going down, a sinister message appeared stating: “Ukrainians! … All information about you has become public. Be afraid and expect worse. It’s your past, present and future.”

The message also reproduced the Ukrainian flag and map crossed out and referenced “historical land.” This appeared in three languages: Ukrainian, Russian and Polish.

The Guardian quoted the Ukrainian foreign ministry’s spokesperson, Oleg Nikolenko, who said: “As a result of a massive cyber-attack, the website of the ministry of foreign affairs and other government agencies are temporarily down.

“Our specialists have already started restoring the work of IT systems, and the cyber-police has opened an investigation.”

Ukraine’s SBU security service said that no personal data was leaked in the attack.

The incident has come amid heightened tensions in the region, with the Kremlin demanding assurances that Ukraine will not join Nato. Russia has deployed 100,000 troops to the border with Ukraine.

The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, condemned the attacks, stating: “We are going to mobilize all our resources to help Ukraine to tackle this. Sadly, we knew it could happen.”

He added: “I can’t blame anybody as I have no proof. But we can imagine.”

Commenting on the story, Anthony Gilbert, cyber threat intelligence lead at 
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