Montenegro’s plea for UK help in cyber war

MONTENEGRO has asked Britain for technical help to defend itself against cyber attacks after suffering a barrage of online assaults in the wake of a Russian-backed coup plot.

The Balkan nation says it suffered sustained cyber attacks against state websites on the day the foiled coup was due to take place, and then faced another wave of attacks last month.

Both Montenegrin and British offi- cials have accused Russia of being behind the coup plot, to stop Montenegro joining Nato. Russia said the accusation was absurd and unsubstantiated.

Montenegrin leaders asked Sir Alan Duncan, the Foreign Office minister, for British technical assistance to repel cyber attacks when he visited the country last week. UK and American intelligence agencies are already helping the country investigate the coup plot to assassinate the then prime minister, Milo Djukanovic, on Oct 16, 2016.

The country said government and media websites came under attack on that day and again for several days in mid-February. A government statement said: “The scope and diversity of the attacks and the fact that they are undertaken on the professional level indicates that this was a planned and synchronised action.”

It said the country was still working to identify the culprits, but the attacks appeared to be aimed at “disabling distribution of information to Montenegrin and international public”.

British sources said the cyber attacks were being “viewed in the context of the coup plot”.

Russia has been accused of significantly escalating cyber attacks on the West in the past 12 months, including leaking sensitive emails to sway the US presidential election in favour of Donald Trump.

Russia has denied the attacks and says its own systems have come under attack from Western intelligence.

Ukraine has this year also asked for British help to build its cyber defences after the country reported a wave of online attacks against state institutions and said it was facing a cyber war from Russia.

Meanwhile, Gen Sir Gordon Messenger, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, has met his Russian counterpart, Gen Alexander Zhuravlev, to discuss how to avoid accidental military clashes in Syria or elsewhere.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We stand ready to engage with Montenegro on cyber security issues, following recent attacks on government websites.”