The Austrian Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador to Vienna in connection with yesterday's joint statement by the 27 EU countries on Russian cyberattacks. It officially confirms for the first time that the Russian hacker group "Turla" carried out malicious actions against the Austrian Foreign Ministry in late 2019 and early 2020, APA reported, BTA reported.
The attacks lasted several weeks, and the hackers managed to obtain internal information related to Russia.
It is assumed that "Turla" is controlled by the so-called 16th center of the Russian Federal Security Service, the Austrian Foreign Ministry indicated. In addition to Austria, Germany, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Cyprus have also been affected by Russian cyberattacks.
Meinl-Reisinger: "Cyberattacks are unacceptable"
The Russian ambassador in Vienna was made clear that cyberattacks against Austria were unacceptable, Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger stressed. "Cyberattacks threaten our security. If payment systems fail or if the railway system and hospitals are attacked, this will affect each and every one of us", added Meinl-Reisinger. "Europe is increasingly being subjected to such attacks, and one of the main players in them is Russia", continued the Austrian Foreign Minister. "Austria is also affected. The public has the right to know where the threat comes from. That's why we don't hide behind diplomatic clichés, but point out the culprits and react," Meinl-Reisinger added.
Jörg Leichtfried of the Austrian Social Democratic Party, who is State Secretary for National Security, also condemned the Russian cyberattacks in the strongest terms. "They are an attack on our sovereignty, and the long-term goal is to manipulate public opinion and destabilize us politically, economically and socially," Leichtfried said. "Our goal is clear: to quickly fill the existing gaps in the legislation so that we can provide effective protection for Austrians as well as international organizations," he stressed.