The EU is warning of cyberattacks in the context of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The Council of the European Union (EU) said today that Russian hackers and hacking groups increasingly attacking "essential" organizations worldwide could lead to risks of repercussions and possible escalation.
"This increase in cyberattacks, in the context of the war against Ukraine, creates unacceptable risks of spillover effects, misinterpretation and possible escalation," the High Representative said on behalf of the EU on Tuesday.
"The latest distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) against several EU member states and partners, claimed by pro-Russian hacking groups, are yet another example of the heightened and tense cyber threat landscape that the EU and its member states have observed."
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In this context, the EU reminded Russia that all United Nations Member States must adhere to the UN Framework for Responsible State Conduct in Cyberspace to ensure international security and peace.
The EU urged all states to take the necessary actions to stop cyberattacks carried out from their territory.
Belgium's Foreign Minister also stated today that several Chinese state-sponsored threat groups (including APT27, APT30, APT31, and Gallium) are targeting the Belgian Ministries of Defense and Interior.
"Belgium is uncovering malicious online activities that significantly affected our sovereignty, democracy, security and society in general, targeting FPS Interior and Belgian Defence," the country's foreign minister said.
The EU statement follows a joint warning in February from CISA and the FBI that wiper targeting Ukraine could spread to targets in other countries.
Threat Analysis Group (TAG) said in late March that it had observed phishing attacks orchestrated by the Russian hacking group COLDRIVER against NATO and European military entities.
In May, the US, UK and EU accused Russia of coordinating a massive cyberattack that hit the KA-SAT in Ukraine on February 24 with the malware AcidRain , about an hour before Russia invaded Ukraine.
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A Microsoft report from June also confirms the EU’s observation of an increase in Russian cyberattacks. The company’s president said that threat groups linked to Russian intelligence agencies (including the GRU, SVR and FSB) have stepped up cyberattacks against government entities in countries allied with Ukraine following the Russian invasion.
In related news, in July 2021, President Joe Biden warned that cyberattacks that lead to serious security breaches could lead to a “real shooting war,” a statement issued a month after NATO said that cyberattacks could be compared to “armed attacks” in some cases.
"We confirm that the decision on when a cyberattack would lead to the invocation of Article 5 will be taken by the North Atlantic Council on a case-by-case basis," the NATO.
"Allies recognize that the impact of significant cumulative malicious activity in cyberspace may, in some cases, be considered to be equivalent to an armed attack.".
Source: bleepingcomputer.com
