Cybersecurity Policy Report, U.S., European Allies Aim to Counter Russian Cyber Attacks, (May 3, 2024)
Organizations Mentioned:U.S. State Department
The U.S. and its European allies today blamed Russia for a series of cyber attacks on critical infrastructure in the European Union and a political party in Germany and promised a response.
“Russia’s pattern of behavior blatantly disregards the Framework for Responsible State Behavior in Cyberspace, as affirmed by all United Nations Member States,” the U.S. State Department said in a statement.
“We call on Russia to stop this malicious activity and abide by its international commitments and obligations. With the EU and our NATO Allies, we will continue to take action to disrupt Russia’s cyber activities, protect our citizens and foreign partners, and hold malicious actors accountable,” it said.
The cyber attacks were attributed to Russian intelligence operatives and, in some cases, were launched using vulnerable home and small-office routers, a tactic that the U.S. recently sought to disrupt by obtaining a court order allowing the Federal Bureau of Investigation to remotely disable malware on the privately owned routers (TR Daily, Feb. 16).
European Union officials expressed concern that the cyber operations appeared to target political parties and electoral processes in EU member states.
“The EU will not tolerate such malicious behaviour, particularly activities that aim to degrade our critical infrastructure, weaken societal cohesion and influence democratic processes, mindful of this year’s elections in the EU and in more than 60 countries around the world,” Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative–foreign affairs and security policy, said in a statement.
“The EU is determined to make use of the full spectrum of measures to prevent, deter and respond to Russia’s malicious behaviour in cyberspace,” Mr. Borrell warned.
The Czech Republic’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the cyber attacks “particularly serious and reprehensible” for their targeting of political parties and elections. “Cyber attacks targeting political entities, state institutions and critical infrastructure are not only a threat to national security, but also disrupt the democratic processes on which our free society is based,” it said in a statement.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization said it stood “in solidarity with Germany following the malicious cyber campaign against a political party, in this case the Social Democratic Party of Germany, and with Czechia following the malicious cyber activities against its institutions.”
“We remain committed to countering the substantial, continuous and increasing cyber threat, including to our democratic systems and our critical infrastructure,” NATO said in a statement. “We are determined to employ the necessary capabilities in order to deter, defend against and counter the full spectrum of cyber threats to support each other, including by considering coordinated responses.”
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