Ukraine Blames Russia For New Virus Targeting Infrastructure

Ukraine has accused the Russian security service of attacking the country's infrastructure using a new virus designed to render industrial equipment non-functional, Reuters reports. At a recent press conference, Ukraine's security service chief of staff Oleksandr Tkachuk stated the attacks appear to come from the creators of malware BlackEnergy; the same people were allegedly responsible for cyberattacks on the country's energy industry since December 2015.

Ukraine blamed Russia for 6,500 cyberattacks in November and December of last year, including those on Kiev's power grid and the State Treasury. If the most recent allegations are true, Ukraine could push the US for a joint effort in fighting the Russian cyberthreat.

"Russian hackers and infobots become an important tool of the aggression against our country," said Tkachuk, adding that a mechanism called Telebots was employed to target computers controlling its industrial infrastructure.

Another cybersecurity company, CyberX, claims to have unearthed an espionage scheme in Ukraine targeting 60 victims. It fears this could be a launching pad for further attacks.

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