In a statement provided to ČTK by Daniel Drake, Minister Jan Lipavský (Pirates) pointed out that the deliberate attack by Russia aimed to seriously threaten the security and stability of the Czech Republic. According to him, there is no doubt about the involvement of the GRU.
“Today, together with Germany and other states in the EU and NATO, we condemned the attempt by Russian hackers to threaten our systems. The problem was detected and resolved quickly. Today, however, we proceeded to publicly condemn the specific attackers,” remarked Lipavský.
Repeated cyber attacks
The Czech Republic and its international partners fundamentally condemned the activities of the APT28 group, which, according to the office, has been conducting a long-term cyberespionage campaign in European countries.
“The Czech Republic is concerned about repeated cyber attacks by state actors. We are determined to strongly react to this unacceptable behavior together with our European and international partners,” the ministry said. It called on the Russian Federation to cease these activities.
According to the authority, the affected entities received technical recommendations and an offer to cooperate on increasing security measures.
Operation Dying Ember
The APT28 group was also involved in Operation Dying Ember, which was led by the United States in January. In February, Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) informed about the involvement of the Czech Republic in the operation.
According to Czech diplomacy, APT28 has a long-term focus on the Czech Republic. “In the context of the upcoming European elections, national elections in a number of European countries and the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine, these actions are particularly serious and condemnable,” she said. According to the department, the Czech authorities will continue to strengthen the resilience of government institutions and the private sector.
The United States also condemned the attacks
The United States condemns the insidious cyber activities of Russian intelligence services directed against the Czech Republic, Germany and other European countries. According to Reuters, the US Department of State stated this today. Attacks on Czech and German targets, which were reported by the governments of these two countries and linked to Russia, were also condemned by the EU, NATO and Britain.
Austrian: We are not defenseless victims!
“We are fighting against recurring cyber attacks, which are conducted in the Czech Republic against critical infrastructure, state public institutions, and against political parties and movements,” stated Minister of the Interior Vít Rakušan (STAN) at a press conference with the German Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Feaser. He confirmed that Russia and the GRU were behind it.
“The goal of these attacks is logically the disruption of security systems, disruption of critical infrastructure, disruption of critical communication infrastructure, but it is also disruption of the basic democratic functioning of our states,” continued the Austrian.
According to him, from the point of view of international law, Russia is acting in violation of UN standards for the responsible behavior of states in cyberspace and other international obligations. “Only a few days ago, our security forces were able to prevent several planned attacks with the help of explosives, which were supposed to target our military aid, which is going to Ukraine,” said Fraser.
Vit the Austrian and Nancy Feaser. (3/5/2024) | Lightning: Rusinova Maria
“Under the leadership of our Czech colleagues, our security forces were able to recognize, expose and break up an influence operation that originated in Russia. It was an operation that targeted the European Parliament and the upcoming European elections. The disinformation and lying portal Voice of Europe was exposed. This made it very clear how far the efforts of Putin’s propagandists reach, they are trying to reach our parliaments, and it is quite clear that it is necessary to defend our democracy in the digital space as well,” added Feaserová.
“We stand here next to each other and show that European cooperation and European unity, precisely in these moments of crisis that we are experiencing in the security area, is irreplaceable. And it is also important to send one signal to Russia. We are not defenseless victims, we are not states that cannot defend themselves, and we are states that will defend themselves against all attacks of any kind.” the Austrian also stated.
The NATO body also spoke up
The North Atlantic Council, NATO’s top body, expressed deep concern on Thursday night over increasing Russian cyber attacks. In the statement, he talks about threats to the security of alliance partners and mentions the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland among the specific countries that have become their target.
Due to cyber attacks linked to Russia, Germany summoned the Russian ambassador to the country today. At the same time, it called on Moscow to stop such raids, government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner said.
The Federal Interior Ministry said the attacks were not only aimed at the ruling Social Democracy (SPD), but also at German firms in the fields of logistics, armaments, aviation and computer technology. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said today that the APT28 group was behind last year’s hacker attack on the SPD.
One man was injured early this morning in a Russian drone attack on the Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine, and fires broke out in at least three residential buildings in Kharkiv. The local media reported on it. The Ukrainian Air Force announced today that Ukrainian air defense systems destroyed 23 of the 24 attack drones sent by Russia into Ukrainian territory.
About an hour after midnight local time, the mayor of Ukraine’s second largest city, Ihor Terehov, announced that several explosions were being reported from Kharkiv. Debris from downed drones reportedly caused at least three private houses in the city district to catch fire. Osnovyanskyj.
“Special credit goes to the fighters of the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade for shooting down another Russian Su-25 (aircraft) today in the Donetsk region,” Ukrainian President Zelenskyi said in a regular evening video speech.
He did not provide further details, Reuters noted, saying his claim could not be immediately verified. Zelensky also in his speech talked about the new wave of Russian shelling of Ukrainian territory, especially in the Kharkiv, Odesa and Dnepropetrovsk regions, where at least two people died and others were injured.
Soldiers of the 110th Ukrainian Independent Mechanized Brigade shot down a Russian Su-25 fighter jet in the Donetsk region today. said President Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
