Its Infrastructure Attacked Through Cyberspace, Russia Threatens Direct Military Clash With Western Countries

Cyber attack illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/jaydeep_)

JAKARTA - Russian authorities have warned that cyber attacks by Western countries on its infrastructure increase the risk of direct military confrontation.

Not only that, any attempt to oppose Moscow online will face targeted retaliation.

The warning comes after the Russian housing ministry's website was apparently hacked over the weekend, with internet searches for the site leading to a 'Glory to Ukraine' sign in Ukrainian.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said Russia's critical infrastructure and state institutions were being hit by cyber attacks, pointing to figures in the United States and Ukraine as responsible.

"Rest assured, Russia will not leave its aggressive actions unanswered," he said in a statement.

"All of our steps will be measured, targeted, in accordance with our laws and international law."

The statement, issued by the ministry's head of international information security, said Washington deliberately lowered the threshold for the combat use of IT.

"The militarization of the information space by the West, and efforts to turn it into an arena of confrontation between nations, have greatly increased the threat of direct military clashes with unforeseen consequences," the ministry stressed.

It is known that the websites of many Russian state-owned companies and news organizations have been subjected to sporadic hacking attempts, since the Kremlin decided to invade Ukraine on February 24.

The cyber attacks that took place were often used to display information that contradicted Moscow's official line on the conflict.

President Vladimir Putin said in May the number of cyberattacks in Russia by foreign "state structures" had increased several times and called on the country to improve its IT security.