The United States has accused the Russian military of launching “the most destructive and costly cyber-attack in history” last year, The BBC reports.
The statement by White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders came only hours after the United Kingdom stated similar accusations.
The cyber attack, dubbed ‘NotPetya,’ spread worldwide, causing billions of dollars in damage across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
“The attack was part of the Kremlin’s ongoing effort to destabilize Ukraine and demonstrates ever more clearly Russia’s involvement in the ongoing conflict,” Sanders said. She called the interference “reckless and indiscriminate”, warning Russia that its actions “will be met with international consequences”.
On June 27, 2017, Ukrainian banks, energy companies, state-owned online resources and local networks, as well as a number of media outlets, were subjected to a major cyber-attack where a malware blocked computer systems operating on Windows.
According to the Ukrainian police, over two days, 1,508 legal entities and individuals filed complaints claiming their computers had been blocked and data encrypted. The losses from the attack worldwide are estimated at $1.2 billion.
On Thursday the UK government took the unusual step of publicly accusing the Russia military of being behind the attack.
“The UK and its allies will not tolerate malicious cyber activity,” the foreign office said in a statement. Later, the White House also pointed the finger at Russia.
“In June 2017, the Russian military launched the most destructive and costly cyberattack in history,” a statement said. “This was also a reckless and indiscriminate cyberattack that will be met with international consequences.”
Russia, however, said the claims were “groundless” and that Russian businesses were among those whose systems were affected.
“It’s not more than a continuation of the Russophobic campaign,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
