Germany, U.S. warn of growth in pro-Russia cyberattacks

Feb. 26 (UPI) -- German and American officials have said that incidents of attacks by pro-Moscow hackers have grown since the war in Ukraine.

Nancy Faeser, Germany's Interior Minister, told the news network Funke Mediengruppe on Sunday that "cybersecurity concerns have been exacerbated by the war," according to The Guardian.

Faeser also revealed that the German government is expanding its office for security in information technology while she called on other governments to work together to fend of Russian cyber-attacks.

Russian hackers are particularly targeting energy providers and military organizations, Faeser said.

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said last week that it had also released an alert encouraging organizations to "heighten their cyber vigilance" in response to threats around the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"CISA assesses that the United States and European nations may experience disruptive and defacement attacks against websites in an attempt to sow chaos and societal discord on February 24, 2023, the anniversary of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine," CISA said in a statement.

"CISA urges organizations and individuals to increase their cyber vigilance in response to this potential threat."

The Computer Emergency Response Team of Ukraine, Ukraine's cybersecurity agency, said Thursday that Russian state hackers had gained access to more than 20 government website using backdoors planted before December 2021.