Western partners attribute Visat cyberattack to Russia

Western partners attribute Viasat cyberattack to Russia, disrupting broadband services during the first day of the Russian invasion, causing communication outages in Ukraine and some EU states. British and US officials denounce the attack as deliberate and malicious, aimed at disrupting Ukrainian command and control, along with a series of cyberattacks by Russian hackers on Ukrainian entities before and after the invasion.

The USA, the EU, Canada, and the UK attributed the Viasat cyberattack to Russia. The cyberattack disrupted broadband satellite internet access provided by the US telecoms firm Viasat on 24 February, the first day of the Russian invasion. 

According to the Council of the EU, the attack caused ‘indiscriminate communication outages’ in Ukraine and several EU member states. British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss called the Viasat cyberattack ‘deliberate and malicious’. The attack aimed ‘to disrupt Ukrainian command and control during the invasion’, said the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Blinken’s statement also attributed a series of cyberattacks on Ukrainian government agencies and companies, which happened before and after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to Russian hackers.