US, Britain blame Russia for cyber attack

washington — The United States and Britain on Thursday blamed the Russian military for last year’s devastating “NotPetya” ransomware attack, calling it a Kremlin effort to destabilise Ukraine which spun out of control.

Statements from Washington and London said Russia would face ramifications for the attacks that crippled computer networks in the United States and Europe, including those of some big corporations.

A White House statement, echoing one from Britain’s Foreign Office hours earlier, pointed the finger

It was part of the Kremlin’s ongoing effort to destabilise ukraine.” US statement

at the Russian military for the June 2017 attack and called it “the most destructive and costly cyber attack in history,” resulting in billions of dollars in economic losses.

“It was part of the Kremlin’s ongoing effort to destabilise Ukraine,” the US statement said.

The White House added that “NotPetya,” which hit thousands of computer systems and caused damage across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, was a “reckless and indiscriminate cyber attack that will be met with international consequences.”

Earlier in London, Foreign Office Minister for Cyber Security Tariq Ahmad said the British government decided to publicly attribute the blame, underscoring that Britain and its allies “will not tolerate malicious cyber activity.”

“Primary targets were Ukrainian financial, energy and government sectors,” the British statement said, adding that NotPetya’s “indiscriminate design caused it to spread further, affecting other European and Russian business.”

British Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said the attack was further evidence of a “new era of warfare,” with “a destructive and deadly mix of conventional military might and malicious cyber attacks.”

Russia “is ripping up the rule book by undermining democracy, wrecking livelihoods by targeting critical infrastructure and weaponizing information,” he said. —