NATO Boosts Cyberdefense, Helps Ukraine in Probe of Recent Hacker Attacks

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is boosting its cyberdefense capabilities and assisting Ukrainian government networks with equipment to uncover the culprit of the recent attacks that crippled its networks, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday.

KIEV (Sputnik) — Speaking alongside Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, he said the alliance is "in the process of providing Ukraine with new equipment to some key government institutions."

"We are very concerned about the increase in cyberattacks we have seen, and actually this is a pattern that we have seen over some time. And therefore NATO has decided, and we are now implementing, a strong reinforcement and strengthening of our cyberdefenses," Stoltenberg said.

"This equipment will help Ukraine to investigate who is behind the different attacks," Stoltenberg said. "And it will also help Ukraine with defending key government institutions against cyberattacks."

The US State Department earlier commented on Ukraine's cyberattacks, saying that despite Kiev's claims that Russia is behind them, Washington is "not ready to make that judgment just yet."

On June 27, a large-scale hacking attack targeted companies across the world, but particularly affecting organizations in Ukraine. The attackers used ransomware, which was initially recognized as the Petya malware, but was later identified it as a new type of malware named ExPetr.

The wave of cyberattacks also hit Russia, Western Europe and North America, according to media reports.

On June 28, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the large-scale cyberattacks confirm Russia's arguments that combining efforts globally is needed to address the growing cyber threat.