The Ukrainian government is looking to review its cyber security defences after an attack was launched on the Boryspil International Airport in Kiev. The origin of the attack appears to have come from a server located in Russia, although there is no evidence that the Russian government is behind it.
Fortunately, the malware was detected early this time and security experts were able to contain it before any damage was done. Ukraine’s state-run Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-UA) warned that more attacks were likely to follow this latest spate of cyber attacks on the Ukrainian infrastructure.
Some 80,000 Ukrainians were disconnected from the national power grid for several hours last month after a devastating cyber attack. Experts are calling it the first time that an electrical blackout was caused by malware. Signs point to Russian involvement in that incident, although it is unknown if it is a state sponsored attack. There is no direct connection between the BlackEnergy incident and this attack on Boryspil, but a military spokesman said that there are signs that the two may be linked.
Relations between Ukraine and Russia have been strained over the past few years. Russia invaded and annexed the Crimea region in 2014; and the country is suspected of arming and supporting rebels currently destabilising eastern Ukraine. Due to the current state of events, sophisticated cyber attacks from Russia are not entirely impossible or unlikely.
[Source: Reuters]
