MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th October, 2018) The UK authorities assess "with high confidence" that the Russian military intelligence service GRU was "almost certainly" responsible for a series of cyberattacks on political institutions, media outlets and infrastructure across the globe, including in the United Kingdom, and plan to respond to it together with allies, the UK Foreign Office said on Thursday.
"Today, the UK and its allies can expose a campaign by the GRU, the Russian military intelligence service, of indiscriminate and reckless cyber attacks targeting political institutions, businesses, media and sport ... NCSC [the UK National Cyber Security Centre] assess with high confidence that the GRU was almost certainly responsible ... The UK and its allies are once again united in demonstrating that the international community will stand up against irresponsible cyber attacks by other governments and that we will work together to respond to them," the Foreign Office said in a statement.
The statement included claims by the NCSC that the GRU was allegedly complicit of the 2017 release of medical files of the World Anti-Doping Agency, relating to a number of international athletes; the US Democratic National Committee (DNC) e-mail leak in 2016; stealing of content of a UK-based tv station in 2015; and the 2017 BadRabbit ransomware attack that affected the operation of the metro in Kiev, Odessa International Airport, the Bank of Russia and two Russian TV channels.
The NCSC listed the Names of cyberactors with which it associates the GRU. The list comprises APT 28, Fancy Bear, Sofacy, Pawnstorm, Sednit, CyberCaliphate, Cyber Berkut, Voodoo Bear, BlackEnergy Actors, STRONTIUM, Tsar Team and Sandworm.
"Our message is clear: together with our allies, we will expose and respond to the GRU's attempts to undermine international stability," UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said in the statement.
Over the recent years, the Russian authorities have repeatedly been accused of carrying out cyberattacks against other countries, including the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Germany, and attempting, in particular, to influence the results of elections.
Moscow has repeatedly refuted claims of having links to cyberactors and attempting to meddle in other states' domestic affairs, noting that these claims were unfounded.
