UK accuses Russia of using NotPetya virus to attack networks
The British Foreign Office accused the Russian government of being involved in the NotPetya cyber attack, but did not provide any evidence or source of information.
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| Britain accuses Russia of cyber attacks. Photo Reuters |
The global ransomware attack last June affected IT systems of companies in several countries. Ukraine was hit hardest.
The attack caused damage to many oil, energy, telecommunications, pharmaceutical companies, as well as government agencies.
"The British government believes that the Russian government, and in particular the Russian military, was responsible for this destructive attack with the use of the NotPetya virus in June 2017. The attack demonstrated a lack of respect for Ukrainian sovereignty, disrupted the operations of organizations across Europe and caused hundreds of millions of pounds in damage" - British Foreign Office Undersecretary Tarik Ahmad said, assessing this as a reckless act by Russia.
According to him, the attack was disguised as an attempt to interfere with business processes, but its purpose was to disrupt the work of organizations and companies in Europe.
Deputy Minister Tarik Ahmad called on Russia to become a responsible member of the international community.