Ukraine suspects a Belarusian intelligence group as a result of the cyber attack

Author: Pavel Politykauk

KYIV (Reuters) – Kiev believes Belarusian intelligence hacker has launched cyber-attack https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/expect-worst-ukraine-hit-by-cyberattack-russia-moves-more- troops-2022-01-14 this week went to Ukrainian government websites and used similar malware used by a Russian intelligence-affiliated group, a senior Ukrainian security official said.

Serhiy Demedyu, deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, told Reuters that Ukraine had blamed the attack on Friday – which had ruined government websites with threatening messages – for a group known as UNC1151 and cover up more destructive actions behind the scenes.

“We anticipate that the UNC1151 team may be involved in this attack,” he said.

His comments provide Kyiv with the first detailed analysis of the alleged culprits behind the cyber attack on dozens of websites. Officials said Friday that Russia was probably involved but did not provide details. Belarus is a close ally of Russia.

Cyberattacks hit websites with a warning to “be afraid and expect the worst” at a time when Russia has gathered troops https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-crisis-what-next-after-week- talks-tension- 2022-01-14 Close to the Ukrainian border, and Kiev and Washington fear that Moscow is planning a new military attack on Ukraine.

Russia has called these fears “baseless.”

The office of President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Demedyuk’s remarks.

The Russian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its remarks. He has previously refused to take part in cyberattacks, including those against Ukraine.

“The destruction of the sites was just a cover up for the most devastating actions that were taking place behind the scenes and the consequences we will feel in the near future,” Demedyu said in written comments.

In a reference to UNC1151, he said: “It is a cyber-espionage group linked to the special services of the Republic of Belarus.”

‘TRACK RECORD’

Demedyu, who is the former head of the Ukrainian cyber police, said the group has a long way to go in Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Ukraine and has spread stories about the NATO alliance’s presence in Europe.

“The malicious software used to encrypt some government servers is very similar to that used by the ATP-29 group in its characteristics,” he said, referring to a group that suspected it was involved in hacking the Democratic National Commission before the 2016 US presidential election.

“The group specializes in cyber-spy, which is linked to special services in Russia (Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation) and, for its attacks, hires or hires its insiders to work in the right company,” Demedyu said.

The messages left on Ukrainian websites on Friday were in three languages: Ukrainian, Russian and Polish. They mentioned Volhynia and eastern Galicia, where mass killings were carried out by the Nazis in the German-occupied Polish Rebel Army (UPA) in German-occupied Poland. The section remains a point of contention between Poland and Ukraine.

Demedyuk suggested that hackers use Google (NASDAQ 🙂 Translate for Polish translation.

“It is clear that they did not succeed in misleading anyone with this primitive method, but there is evidence that the attackers ‘played’ in Polish-Ukrainian relations (which are being strengthened on a daily basis),” he said.