“There is no reality behind the words”: why in Kiev they diverged in versions about those involved in a cyber attack on Ukrainian sites

The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine accused Russia of being involved in a hacker attack on state and non-commercial websites of the country that took place at the end of last week.

“All the evidence points to Russia being behind the cyberattack.

Moscow continues to wage a hybrid war and is actively building up its forces in the information and cyberspace,” the ministry said in a statement.

It is noted that the perpetrators of the hacker attack aimed not only to intimidate society, but also to destabilize the situation in Ukraine, stopping the work of the public sector and undermining the confidence in the authorities on the part of Ukrainians.

Massive hack

Recall that on the night of January 14, the websites of the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ministries of sports, agricultural policy, education, the portal of the State Treasury and other resources were subjected to a cyber attack.

In total, more than 70 state websites suffered from the actions of hackers, ten of which were subjected to unauthorized interference.

On some portals, the attackers posted an appeal in Ukrainian, Russian and Polish with threats.

The hackers claimed that all the personal data of Ukrainian citizens were allegedly made public and that this was retribution for their "past, present and future."

“For Volhynia, for the OUN-UPA*, for Galicia, for Polissya and for historical lands,” the text of the stub posted on the sites said.

At the same time, in fact, there was no leakage or damage to the data, the Security Service of Ukraine reported on the same day, after which they announced an investigation into the possible involvement of Russian special services in the attack.

The department believes that the attackers used the so-called supply chain attack, that is, an attack through the supply chain.

To do this, hackers hacked into the infrastructure of a commercial company that had access to the administration rights of the affected sites, according to the SBU.

The version about Russia's involvement in cyber attacks was also supported by the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov, who said that he was 99.9% sure of this.

“Their handwriting is clearly visible.

These actions are carried out by Russian specialists,” he said in an interview with the British channel Sky News on January 14.

However, this statement was not supported by Danilov's deputy, Sergey Demedyuk.

The next day, in an interview with Reuters, he said that hackers from Belarus were most likely behind the attack.

In particular, he named the group known as UNC1151.

“This group is engaged in cyber espionage and is associated with the special services of the Republic of Belarus,” Demedyuk told the agency.

• Deputy Head of the National Security and Defense Council Serhiy Demedyuk

• © www.president.gov.ua

According to him, the community has experience of cyber attacks on Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and has previously distributed materials condemning NATO's presence in Europe.

Demedyuk noted that the characteristics of the malware used by the hackers are similar to those previously used by the APT29 group, also known as Cozy Bear.

Western intelligence agencies connected her with Russian intelligence.

The deputy head of the National Security and Defense Council also expressed the opinion that the disruption of the sites was only a cover for other "more destructive actions", the consequences of which Ukraine allegedly will feel in the near future.

Eternal Accused

In Russia, they categorically rejected the possible involvement in cyber attacks on Ukrainian sites.

So, the presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, in an interview with CNN on January 16, said that Moscow had nothing to do with them.

“We have heard accusations against Russia that Russia is behind this.

But no evidence was provided.

We see this as a continuation of other unsubstantiated accusations against Russia,” Peskov said.

According to him, Kiev is so used to blaming Russia for everything that it makes it responsible even for bad weather in the country.

In addition, the presidential press secretary once again recalled the groundlessness of the accusations against Russia regarding the "military escalation" that Western countries have been making in recent months.

In particular, on January 14, White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced Moscow's "aggressive" plans towards Ukraine.

According to her, Russia is allegedly conducting preparatory work to fabricate a pretext for attacking Ukraine.

“We have seen this before, ahead of the events of 2014.

Including (this goal will be achieved. -

) through sabotage and information operations ... The Russian military plans to start this activity a few weeks before the military invasion, ”said Psaki.

According to her, the White House allegedly has information that Moscow "has already trained a group of agents to conduct a false flag operation in eastern Ukraine."

“These individuals are trained in urban warfare and the use of explosives to sabotage Russian puppet forces,” the White House spokeswoman added.

However, according to Peskov, the American side did not provide any evidence of what was said. 

“You know, we live in a world of fake accusations or fake news, and also a world of lies.

Until this is somehow proven, something obvious or something understandable, we will continue to believe that this is fake news and false accusations, ”Peskov said.

• Cyber ​​police officers of Ukraine

• AFP

• © SERGEI SUPINSKY

He also recalled that National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, during a briefing on January 13, promised that the White House would share with the press the details of the scenario allegedly prepared by Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine within 24 hours.

“We are still waiting for this evidence,” Peskov stressed.

Meanwhile, Sullivan himself, commenting on the cyber attack on Ukrainian state websites on CBS, has already stated that the United States, together with its allies, will find a “suitable answer” if it turns out that Russia is involved in cyber attacks on Ukraine.

"Confusion and vacillation"

According to experts, Kiev's latest accusations against Russia are an attempt by the Ukrainian leadership to present itself as a victim in the eyes of Western partners.

At the same time, analysts note that government officials often do not coordinate their voiced positions with each other.

“The current state of the system of power in Ukraine can be described by the classic expression “confusion and vacillation”.

There is a real lack of not only coordination and discipline, but simply a willingness to coordinate certain issues with each other at different levels, ”explained Oleg Nemensky, a leading researcher at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, in an interview with RT.

He recalled that this is not the first time that Russia has been accused of all sins only in order to put it in an unfavorable light.

“And the current statements, devoid of any evidence base, are no exception.

This also emphasizes the fact that at the level of one department, officials broadcast different versions of what happened.

All this only says that behind these words, perhaps, there is no reality, especially since a serious investigation has not yet been conducted, ”Nemensky noted.

His opinion is shared by political scientist Alexander Dudchak.

According to the expert, the Ukrainian authorities present to the public those versions of what happened that would be beneficial to them and would meet the tasks of their Western partners.

“In the West, they are trying to push the concept of an imminent “Russian invasion” and, for greater certainty, I think they could organize such an attack in order to then shift the responsibility for it to Moscow.

All this should be considered as part of the information campaign that is being waged against the Russian Federation, ”the analyst said.

• Ukrainian military

• AP

• © Ukrainian Defense Ministry Press Service

He also suggested that the ongoing cyberattack could have been used to divert the attention of the world community from Russian demands for security guarantees on the US and NATO.

“The Americans might well have been smart enough to use a fake cyberattack on Ukrainian websites in order to disrupt negotiations with Moscow under this pretext.

Moreover, according to tradition, no evidence, most likely, will be presented, ”Dudchak said.

Oleg Nemensky adheres to the same position.

He noted that the demands put forward by Russia do not meet the interests of Washington and NATO.

“We see that the United States really wants to move the topic of conversation from security guarantees to discussing the situation only in Ukraine.

But such a strong narrowing of the topic is not interesting for Russia.

Therefore, all information attacks, and maybe cyber attacks, are designed to help the United States focus public attention only on a topic that is relevant for Washington - the military-political situation around Ukraine, ”the analyst summed up.

* "Ukrainian Insurgent Army" (UPA) is a Ukrainian organization recognized as extremist and banned on the territory of Russia (decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of 11/17/2014).