UK condemns Russian cyber attack against Georgia as 'totally unacceptable' [VIDEO]
The UK considers Georgia as its "strategic partner" and remains "unwavering in its support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity". Photo: Foreign Office of the UK/Facebook
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Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom Dominic Raab has condemned Russia’s “unacceptable cyber-attacks against Georgia” carried out in October 2019.
Calling the Russia’s military intelligence service - GRU's - "reckless and brazen campaign" of cyber attacks against Georgia "totally unacceptable", Secretary Raab said the UK will continue to counter its "menacing behaviour" together with allies.
The Russian government has a clear choice: continue this aggressive pattern of behaviour against other countries, or become a responsible partner which respects international law", Dominic Raab said.
The Foreign Office of the UK released a statement earlier today, reporting that together with Georgia and other international partners, they “have exposed" the responsibility of GRU for a number of significant cyber attacks against Georgia last year.
???? NEWS: The UK, Georgia and international partners have exposed Russia’s military intelligence service as being responsible for significant cyber-attacks against Georgia last year.
— Foreign Office ???????? (@foreignoffice) February 20, 2020
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It said, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) "assesses with the highest level of probability" that on October 28, 2019 the GRU carried out "large-scale, disruptive cyber-attacks", which are "part of Russia’s long-running campaign of hostile and destabilising activity against Georgia".
The UK is clear that the GRU conducted these cyber attacks in an attempt to undermine Georgia’s sovereignty, to sow discord and disrupt the lives of ordinary Georgian people", the statement reads.
The UK considers Georgia as its "strategic partner" and remains "unwavering in its support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity".
Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani thanked Secretary Raab "for being so loud" in his condemnation of Russia’s disruptive cyber attack against Georgia.
The US condemns Russia’s ‘widespread disruptive cyber attack against Georgia,' carried out in October 2019, the press office of US State Secretary Mike Pompeo said earlier today.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry has stated that on October 28, 2019, the Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) Main Center for Special Technologies carried out a ‘widespread, disruptive cyber attack’ against web pages and servers of Georgian governmental agencies, court and media organisations.“The attack caused serious damage to the web pages and servers. The cyberattack aimed to undermine Georgia’s national security, harming the Georgian population, disrupting the functioning of government agencies, as well as various organizations, and stirring commotion in public."
Hacker attacks have been carried out against 2,000 websites including that of the President of Georgia, Courts of Georgia, NGOs, local self-governments and private organizations. Hacker attack victim sites are mainly hosted on the Proservice server. The company says that “this is a global flow and they are working to eliminate and fix the problem”.
A number of European countries have joined the United States and the United Kingdom in condemning Russia’s cyber attack against web pages and servers of Georgian governmental agencies, court and media organisations on October 28, 2019.
Russian Foreign Ministry has denied widespread allegations that it carried out a cyberattack against Georgia in October 2019, stating that ‘there is no evidence providing’ the country was involved, accusing Tbilisi, Washington, London and other states of ‘synchronized’, anti-Russian propaganda. “All accusations are again lined up in the spirit of the notorious ‘highly likely,” Russian Foreign Ministry says.
High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of European Commission Josep Borrell has condemned Russia’s widespread cyber attack against Georgia back in October 2019.
Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani has thanked High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of European Commission Josep Borrell for condemning Russia’s widespread cyber attack against Georgia back in October 2019.
Shanker Singham, former trade adviser to the United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox, who now chairs Global Vision, said in his recent article in The Telegraph that “leaving the EU is no reason to change UK engagement" in Eastern Europe and the Caucuses.
Georgia and the United Kingdom are launching a new project that will contribute to increasing trade and export opportunities between the countries, announces the Embassy of Georgia to the United Kingdom.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has raised the issue of the ‘severe humanitarian crisis’ in Georgia’s Russian-occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali and recent illegal conviction of Georgian citizen Zaza Gakheladze by occupation forces at a meeting with UK Minister for European Neighbourhood and the Americas at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Wendy Morton. Morton has paid her first official visit to Georgia earlier today and is scheduled to visit the occupation line in the village of Odzisi, central Georgia later.
UK Minister for European Neighbourhood and the Americas at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Wendy Morton has paid her first official visit to Georgia. Morton has tweeted that ‘our countries are close allies and I’m delighted that our relationship is going from strength to strength.’ She has already met with Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani at the Palace of Official Ceremonies (former presidential palace in Avlabari) in central Tbilisi.
UK Minister for European Neighbourhood and the Americas at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Wendy Morton has visited the occupation line in central Georgia, near the country’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region.