Cyberattack That Has Never Happened To Hit The Russian Ministry Of Foreign Affairs

Spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova (photo: x @_MariaZakharova)

JAKARTA The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs was targeted by a massive cyberattack on Wednesday, October 23, just as the 2024 BRICS Summit took place in Kazan, Russia. A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, revealed that this attack was one of the largest ever experienced by the ministry's digital infrastructure.

Zakharova explained that the attack was in the form of a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS), which was designed to flood ministry's official portal servers with excessive internet traffic so that websites could not be accessed.

"Large cyberattacks from abroad began this morning, targeting the Russian Foreign Ministry's official portal infrastructure," Zakharova said in a statement.

Although the ministry often faces similar attacks, Zakharova stressed that this attack is very different in terms of scale and intensity.

"We often deal with attacks like this, but today's attacks are truly unprecedented in terms of scale," he said, without providing further details on the source of the attacks or damage it causes.

Serangan ini terjadi saat Rusia menjadi tuan rumah KTT BRICS 2024 yang digelar di kota Kazan pada 22-24 Oktober. BRICS, sebuah kelompok yang terdiri dari Brasil, Rusia, India, China, dan Afrika Selatan, mengadakan pertemuan untuk membahas kerja sama ekonomi dan politik global di tengah meningkatnya ketegangan dengan negara-negara Barat.

The summit is seen as Russia's attempt to show that despite being hit by heavy sanctions from Western countries, Moscow still has an important role on the international stage.

The BRICS meeting is also considered a symbol of the increasingly close multilateral cooperation between Russia and other developing countries, especially in the face of geopolitical pressure from Western countries.

Rising Cyber Threats

Cyberattacks against Russia, particularly on its important infrastructure, have become increasingly common in recent years. Russia's Foreign Ministry has often been the target of attacks suspected of originating from Western countries, especially since conflicts with Ukraine heated up.

However, Zakharova did not mention whether there was concrete evidence that this attack came from certain countries. Even so, this attack clearly adds to tensions that already exist in the midst of a global situation that is hot.

Amid the global escalation of cyber threats, Russia itself has also been accused by several Western countries of being involved in cyberattacks against important infrastructure in other countries, including interference in general elections in various countries. Moscow has consistently denied these allegations.

The BRICS summit continues despite this cyber disruption, and Russian officials have not confirmed whether this attack has succeeded in influencing the course of the meeting or disrupting diplomatic communications during the event.

A large-scale cyberattack that hit the Russian Foreign Ministry amid the BRICS summit marks an increasing digital threat to the country's important infrastructure. However, gatherings between Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa in Kazan have continued, with Russia trying to show that its position on the global scene remains strong despite pressure from Western countries.

Moscow is expected to continue to improve its defense system against cyberattacks, especially amid increasing geopolitical tensions.