The US and Britain on Thursday blamed the Russian military for last year’s devastating “NotPetya” ransomware attack, calling it a Kremlin effort to destabilize Ukraine, which spun out of control.
Moscow denied the attack, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov yesterday reiterating comments made on Thursday, when he said that the allegations by a British official about the “NotPetya” attack were groundless and part of a “Russophobic” campaign being conducted in some Western countries.
Statements from Washington and London said Russia would face ramifications for the attacks that crippled computer networks in the US and Europe, including those of some big corporations.
A White House statement, echoing one from Britain’s Foreign Office hours earlier, pointed the finger at the Russian military for the June attack and called it “the most destructive and costly cyberattack in history,” resulting in billions of US dollars in economic losses.
“It was part of the Kremlin’s ongoing effort to destabilize Ukraine,” the US statement said.
The White House added that “NotPetya,” which hit thousands of computer systems and caused damage across Europe, Asia and the Americas, was a “reckless and indiscriminate cyberattack that will be met with international consequences.”
Earlier in London, Foreign Office Minister for Cyber Security Tariq Ahmad said the British government decided to publicly attribute the blame, underscoring that Britain and its allies “will not tolerate malicious cyberactivity.”
“Primary targets were Ukrainian financial, energy and government sectors,” the British statement said, adding that NotPetya’s “indiscriminate design caused it to spread further, affecting other European and Russian business.”
British Secretary of Defence Gavin Williamson said the attack was further evidence of a “new era of warfare,” with “a destructive and deadly mix of conventional military might and malicious cyber attacks.”
Russia “is ripping up the rule book by undermining democracy, wrecking livelihoods by targeting critical infrastructure and weaponizing information,” he said.
The attack blocked thousands of computers worldwide, particularly affecting multinational companies and critical infrastructure, such as radiation monitors at the old Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the ports of Mumbai and Amsterdam.
Companies hit included the Russian oil group Rosneft, Danish shipping company Maersk, US pharmaceutical giant Merck, French construction specialist Saint-Gobain and the British advertising firm WPP.
Ukraine, which is battling Russia-backed rebels in a conflict that has killed more than 10,000 people, was the worst affected country.
Banking operations were compromised in what authorities said was an unprecedented attack, which even disrupted arrivals and departures information at the capital’s main Boryspil airport.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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