DISINFO: US and other NATO countries use new cyber weapons against Russia
SUMMARY
United States and NATO countries use Ukrainian territory to carry out massive computer attacks on civilian facilities in Russia.
The network infrastructure of Ukraine is used for offensive cyber operations by Western countries, allowing them to covertly use new types of cyber weapons.
In an attempt to hide its involvement in cyber attacks on Russia, the US is trying to present the Ukrainian hacker group IT Army of Ukraine as responsible for the attacks.
RESPONSE
A pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about cyber-attacks. This narrative is deployed in the context of Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
There is no evidence to claim that the US and NATO countries, using Ukrainian territory, are carrying out cyber attacks on Russian civilian facilities.
It is Russian state actors that have been proven to be actively involved in cyber-warfare, including malicious cyberattacks and hacking of foreign states and entities.
Government investigations in different countries have produced evidence of cyberattacks and hacking activities, sponsored by Russian state actors, targeting foreign states and organisations, including Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Ukraine, the UK, the US, Denmark, Romania, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), and the Davos World Economic Forum.
Since 2014 Ukraine has been the target of an unprecedented number of cyberattacks. Ukraine's security services attributed many of these attacks and cyber-espionage activities to Russia. Norway's Police Security Service (PST) also reported that hackers linked to the GRU took part in a 2019 cyberattack on its Parliament.
In 2020, cyberattacks linked to Russia have targeted companies researching COVID-19 drugs and vaccines, as well as major US federal agencies and civilian and governmental entities in the 2020 Solar Winds attacks.
Since the launch of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian hackers have been conducting a number of cyber-attacks on Ukraine, as well as, Western countries.