Secretary of State Antony Blinken commented on cyberattacks by Russia ahead of its invasion of Ukraine.
The cyberattack, including website defacements, distribution of denial-of-service attacks and attempts to delete important data on government officials and private entities' computers, also affected other countries besides Ukraine, according to a May 10 State Department news release.
“Russia’s cyber activities targeting Ukraine may be less visible than its missile and artillery bombardments, but they are key pieces of the Kremlin’s unjustified war,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said May 12 on Twitter. “Today we are sharing the truth about these activities.”
In late February, Russia reportedly attacked commercial satellite communications networks to disrupt Ukrainian communication during the invasion, according to the news release. It affected tens of thousands of terminals outside of Ukraine with operations such as supporting wind turbines and providing internet to citizens.
One of the destructive wiper malware used by Russia was WhisperGate, the release said. WhisperGate corrupts a computer's master boot record and displays a fake ransomware note, according to a Cyberspace & Infrastructure Security Agency article. Files are encrypted based on specific file extensions. The target data is destroyed and cannot be recovered even if a ransom is paid.
The U.S. developed new mechanisms to support Ukraine to help identify cyber threats and recover from such attacks, the release reported. Satellite phones and data terminals were provided to Ukrainian government officials, essential service providers and critical infrastructure operators.
