Roscosmos Chief Warns Cyberattacks Against Russian Satellites Are 'Casus Belli'

It was earlier claimed that a hacker group called "NB65" had "shut down" the control centre of Russia's space agency Roscosmos.

Attempts by hackers to attack Russian satellites are "casus belli", said Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin.

"I want to warn those who are trying to do this that this is a crime that should be very severely punished, because the removal of the space grouping of any country from duty is a so-called casus belli, or a reason for war", Rogozin said on Wednesday.

He also refuted claims that Russia has "lost control" of its satellites after a purported hacker attack. Earlier, an account dubbed Anonymous TV claimed that a hacker group named "NB65" and "affiliated" with the Anonymous hacking collective had "shut down" the control centre of Roscosmos.

"All our space activity control centres are operating normally", Rogozin continued, responding to a tweet by the account dubbed Anonymous TV, calling those spreading the claims "scammers and petty swindlers".

"Russia has no more control over their own Spy-Satelites", the account earlier asserted.

Yet, according to Rogozin, the security system of Roscosmos "automatically" shielded the space agency from the hacker attacks targeting the control centre.

The claims that hackers have shut down the control centre emerged shortly after the hacker group Anonymous declared a cyberwar against the Russian government over the situation in Ukraine. The hacker collective has already taken credit for attacks on Russian government agencies, media outlets, and businesses.

On Tuesday, however, Anonymous itself appeared to be targeted by another hacker group, Killnet, that claimed to have shut down Anonymous' website, along with the webpages of the Ukrainian president's office and the neo-Nazi group Right Sector.