Moscow/Kiev: Russia yesterday said it had uncovered a plot by foreign spy agencies to sow chaos in Russia’s banking system via a coordinated wave of cyber attacks and fake social media reports about banks going bust.
Russia’s domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Security Service (FSB), said the servers to be used in the alleged cyber attack were located in the Netherlands and registered to a Ukrainian web hosting company called BlazingFast.
The attack, which was to target major national and provincial banks in several Russian cities, was meant to start on December 5, the FSB said.
“It was planned that the cyber attack would be accompanied by a mass send-out of SMS messages and publications in social media of a provocative nature regarding a crisis in the Russian banking system, bankruptcies and licence withdrawals,” it said.
“The FSB is carrying out necessary measures to neutralise threats to Russia’s economic and information security.” The statement did not say which countries’ intelligence agencies were behind the alleged plot.
Russia’s central bank said it was aware of the threat and was in constant contact with security services. It said it had drawn up a plan to counteract any attack.
“The situation is under control. Banks have been given necessary guidance,” the central bank said.
Anton Onoprichuk, director of Kiev-based BlazingFast, said neither the FSB nor any other intelligence agency had been in touch with his company. He told reporters he was waiting for more information so his firm could investigate.
Asked if his servers could be used to mount a cyber attack he said: “Technically it is possible. It is possible with any hosting company, where you rent a server. You can attack whatever (you want) from it and in 99 percent of cases it will become known only after the event.”
Russia has been on high alert for foreign-inspired cyber attacks since US officials accused the Kremlin of being involved in hacks on Democratic Party emails during the US presidential election.
