Montenegro is getting support from US and other allies in fending off cyberattacks against its information systems and electronic services at a time of political turmoil.
(Bloomberg) — Montenegro is getting support from US and other allies in fending off cyberattacks against its information systems and electronic services at a time of political turmoil.
Hackers targeted websites and databases of the smallest former Yugoslav republic with the “Cuba” ransomware and a new virus named “Zero Date,” Montenegro’s Public Administration Minister Marash Dukaj said in Facebook video.
Montenegro joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 2017 after ending close ties with Russia.
Most government websites have been temporarily disabled as a precaution, he said.
FBI’s rapid-response Cyber Action Team is expected in Montenegro to help deal with the attacks, in “another proof of excellent cooperation between the United States of America and Montenegro,” Interior Ministry Filip Adzic said on a Facebook page, after meeting FBI officials in the US.
“Montenegro is not alone in this situation, our NATO partners are with us,” Dukaj said.
Officials are focused on stopping “criminal groups” from conducting such hacks, he said.
Dusan Polovic, Montenegro’s cybersecurity chief, told news outlets that citizens’ personal data hadn’t been compromised.
He didn’t name Russia as the culprit, but state broadcaster RTCG cited sources at the Balkan nation’s security agency, ANB, as saying that Russia was behind the attack, prompting the government to ask US and other NATO allies for protection.
The US Embassy in Montenegro on Aug.
26 warned of a “persistent and ongoing” hack affecting the country.
The European Union also pledged expert support to the country that has for years sought to join the bloc.
“EU wants to see Montenegro protected from cybersecurity threats,” EU ambassador to Montenegro, Oana Kristina Popa said in a tweet.
The EU is also backing a “multicountry project aimed at strengthening cyber resilience in Montenegro” that includes sending experts to help protect its critical infrastructure.
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