U.S., ALLIES BLAME RUSSIA FOR GEORGIA CYBERATTACK

The United States and its key allies on Thursday accused Russia’s main military intelligence agency of a broad cyberattack against the republic of Georgia in October that took out websites and interrupted television broadcasts.

Russian military intelligence, known as the GRU, was one of the agencies implicated in the cyberoperations aimed at interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and in a 2017 attack that struck major companies around the world, including Merck, Federal Express and Maersk. That attack is considered one of the most destructive and expensive in history, causing billions of dollars in damage.

By comparison, the attack on Georgia in October was limited, and received only modest press coverage at the time. So it was a surprise when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s allegation Thursday was backed up by simultaneous accusations from Britain, Australia and a host of European nations, all lending credence to the American conclusion that Russia’s Main Center for Special Technology, a unit with the GRU, was responsible.

For the first time, the State Department also linked the Russian military unit to a notorious Russian hacker group known as Sandworm, which is believed to be responsible for some of the most brazen cyberattacks around the world over the past decade.

“This action contradicts Russia’s attempts to claim it is a responsible actor in cyberspace and demonstrates a continuing pattern of reckless Russian GRU cyberoperations against a number of countries,” Pompeo said of the attack on Georgia. “These operations aim to sow division, create insecurity and undermine democratic institutions.”