Ukraine claimed on Tuesday to have conducted a cyberattack that disrupted a Russian Defence Ministry server and temporarily halted its internal information exchange.
The operation “neutralised the special communications server of the Russian Defence Ministry,” Ukrainian military intelligence, GUR, confirmed in a statement, claiming responsibility. It has been impossible to verify these allegations independently so far, and Moscow did not immediately respond.
The cyberattack interrupted the information exchange between the units of the Russian Defence Ministry that used the targeted server, which is located in Moscow, GUR added. The operation is still ongoing, it indicated on Tuesday night.
In a related development, Russian authorities reported on Tuesday a technical failure that affected many Internet sites across the country. They did not specifically mention whether the Defence Ministry site was affected, or whether the two incidents were related.
The Ministry of Digital Development confirmed in a statement that the issue, related to the “DNSSEC” (Domain Name System Security Extensions) infrastructure, was resolved later Tuesday evening. However, the Ministry warned that “disruptions” could continue for “some time.”
The malfunctions were reportedly experienced in the regions of Moscow and Saint Petersburg, along with Novosibirsk and the Republic of Tatarstan, according to state agency Ria Novosti.
