Ukraine has disclosed that the computer systems of her law enforcement organisations’ are being attacked by Russian hackers.
Ukraine’s head of cyber defence told Reuters on Friday that this is being done in an effort to locate and collect data relating to alleged Russian war crimes.
According to Yurii Shchyhol, head of the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, which is in charge of the embattled nation’s cyber defence, the hackers have intensified their digital intrusion campaigns against the office of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General and departments recording war crimes. The hackers are working across Russia’s foreign, domestic, and military intelligence agencies.
“There’s been a change in direction, from a focus on energy facilities towards law enforcement institutions which had previously not been targeted that often,” Shchyhol said.
“This shift, towards the courts, prosecutors and law enforcement units, shows that hackers are gathering evidence about Russian war crimes in Ukraine” with a view to following Ukraine’s investigations, he added.
Shchyhol stated without going into further detail that Russian hackers have emphasised attacking government organisations and attempting to access their email servers.
This comes after the International Criminal Court, which is situated in the Netherlands, announced at the end of last week that it had discovered “unusual activity” on its computer network. On Friday, it was still unclear who was responsible for the attack.
The court grabbed media attention in March when it issued a warrant for Vladimir Putin’s arrest on charges of forcibly removing children from Ukraine. The claims and the court’s authority are denied by the Kremlin.
