US, UK Blame Russia for NotPetya Cyber-Attack

Both the American and British governments attributed last year’s NotPetya cyber-attack that paralyzed part of Ukraine’s infrastructure and wreaked havoc on computers worldwide to the Russian military

US, UK Blame Russia for NotPetya Cyber-Attack

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The United States and Britain blamed the Russian government on Thursday for the NotPetya cyber-attack that hit businesses across Europe last year. The UK accused Moscow of "weaponizing information" in a new kind of warfare, and the White House said, "the Russian military launched the most destructive and costly cyber-attack in history."

"The attack, dubbed 'NotPetya,' quickly spread worldwide, causing billions of dollars in damage across Europe, Asia, and the Americas," said a statement from the White House press secretary. "It was part of the Kremlin's ongoing effort to destabilize Ukraine and demonstrates ever more clearly Russia's involvement in the ongoing conflict. This was also a reckless and indiscriminate cyber-attack that will be met with international consequences."

Earlier, British Foreign Minister Tariq Ahmad said, "the UK government judges that the Russian government, specifically the Russian military, was responsible for the destructive NotPetya cyber-attack of June 2017. The attack showed a continued disregard for Ukrainian sovereignty. Its reckless release disrupted organizations across Europe costing hundreds of millions of pounds."

British Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson accused Russia of "undermining democracy, wrecking livelihoods by targeting critical infrastructure, and weaponizing information" with malicious cyber-attacks. "We must be primed and ready to tackle these stark and intensifying threats," Williamson said. 

President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, denied Russia's involvement. "We categorically deny the accusations. We consider them unfounded and baseless and see them as continuation of groundless Russophobic campaign," he said.

 

[Source: CBS News]

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