Russia-Ukraine Tensions, UK Warn Of Possible International Cyberattack

JAKARTA - The British government again warned of potential cyber-attacks with "international consequences" on Tuesday, February 22, after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops to two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.

The UK's National Cyber Security Center (NCSC), part of the GCHQ wiretapping intelligence agency, called on UK cyber organizations to "step up their online defenses" by keeping up with the developments.

"While the NCSC is not aware of any current specific threats to British organizations in relation to events in and around Ukraine, there has been a historical pattern of cyber attacks in Ukraine with international consequences," it said in a statement.

Last week, Ukrainian banking and government websites were briefly shut down by a denial of service or DDoS attack that the United States and Britain said was carried out by Russian military hackers. Russia, meanwhile, has denied the accusations.

Meanwhile, Lithuania's Deputy Defense Minister on Tuesday also stated that six European Union countries also sent a team of cybersecurity experts to Ukraine to help the country deal with cyber threats.

The shipment was made in response to a request from Ukraine on Monday, February 21. "Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Estonia, Romania, Croatia will send their previously formed expert teams to help other EU countries, institutions, and partners to tackle cyber threats," said Lithuanian Deputy Defense Minister Margiris Abukevicius.