Lithuania denounces “intense” cyber attack by Russia
Lithuania reported a series of “intensive” cyber attacks against the national network and private companies on Monday. According to the Ministry of Defense, “the most significant DDoS attacks have been contained and all security network services remain available,” it reported. Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte has acknowledged an increase in cyber attacks in the country since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24. “We are suffering from it since the very beginning of the invasion. There have been attacks in these four months, and before,” he noted.
The Russian hacker group Killnet has claimed responsibility and assured that cyber-attacks on Lithuania will continue this Tuesday as a result of the decision to close the transit of some goods under European Union sanctions to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.
In the face of this offensive, the Lithuanian Tax Agency (VMI) has quarantined its systems as a security measure after detecting “an unusually high number of registrations.” “VMI users’ data are safe,” it has indicated, although it acknowledged that “the VMI portal, the My VMI application and telephone services are down.”
The director of the Immigration Department, Evelina Gudzinskaite, has reported service disruptions over the internet that have led to delays in the issuance of passports and residence permits. Lithuanian Airports has confirmed incidents on the company’s website. “We have had some interruptions, but everything is working. Our systems are working,” it said. Other government agencies have also announced disruptions to their services. Last week Lithuanian Railways also reported a computer attack.
The EU has agreed sanctions against Russian steel and other ferrous metals, so they are not allowed to transit through EU territory, including between the Kaliningrad enclave and the rest of Russian territory. Moscow accuses Lithuania and the EU of thus breaching international agreements and has even threatened an “undiplomatic” response.
