EU warns of risks of spillover effects associated with the ongoing war in Ukraine

The Council of the European Union (EU) warns of malicious cyber activities conducted by threat actors in the context of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The Council of the European Union (EU) warns of the risks associated with the malicious cyber activities conducted by threat actors in the context of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The EU’s declaration states that a concerning number of threat actors are indiscriminately targeting critical infrastructure globally.

“This increase in malicious cyber activities, in the context of the war against Ukraine, creates unacceptable risks of spillover effects, misinterpretation and possible escalation.” reads the declaration. “In this regard, we recall the EU and its Member States’ strong condemnation of the cyber-attacks against Ukraine on 14 January 2022, and the attribution on 10 May 2022 of the malicious cyber activity targeting the satellite KA-SAT network to the Russian Federation.”

The increasing number of cyber attacks in the context of the ongoing war creates unacceptable risks of spillover effects.

EU cites the recent wave of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against several EU Member States and partners that were conducted by pro-Russian hacker groups. The attacks pose a severe risk to EU and its Member States.

The Council of the European Union (EU) strongly condemns this unacceptable behaviour in cyberspace and expresses solidarity with the countries that were targeted by the attacks. 

“The European Union recalls the need for all UN Member States to adhere to the UN Framework of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace in order to ensure international peace, security and stability. We call upon all states to comply with their due diligence obligations and urge them to take appropriate actions against malicious cyber activities conducted from their territory.” concludes the declaration. “Furthermore, we urge all relevant actors to raise awareness on cyber threats and to take preventive measures to protect critical infrastructure.”

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Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, Council of the European Union)