Montenegro is the victim of a major cyberattack, which targets several institutions in the country, Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic announced after convening the National Security Council late Friday August 26 to decide on the measures to be taken. This is the second cyberattack, after a first wave having hit institutions in this country of 620,000 inhabitants just after a motion of censure which overthrew its government on August 19.
The head of government, who now manages current affairs, will address “ a request to international partners to receive expert assistance in order to recover any data recovered in this attack and to prevent attacks in the future”.
Among the “enemy countries” of Russia
Mr. Abazovic did not speak about the origins of this attack, but his interior minister designated Russia. For Rasko Konjevic, Deputy Prime Minister, it is“very sophisticated attacks that cannot be carried out by individuals”. “Who could have any sort of political interest to inflict such damage on Montenegro? I think there are enough [d’éléments] to doubt that Russia is behind the attack”he said on television.
Montenegro, a NATO member, was added in March by Russia to its list of “enemy countries”after its alignment with European Union sanctions against Moscow because of its invasion of Ukraine.
“All critical infrastructure” at risk
Several media, citing a “informal briefing” for the local press at the National Security Agency (ANB), claim on Saturday that the attack is led by “several Russian services”. According to the same source, “all essential infrastructure” are at risk, including electricity and water supply systems. The power plants have switched to the manual mode of operation.
The computer systems of several institutions have been “infected”including that of the Ministry of Finance, according to the Prime Minister, while the Minister of the Public Service assured that “Citizens’ and companies’ accounts, like their data, are not at risk”.
The United States Embassy has issued a warning to American nationals in the country, stating that these cyberattacks “persistent” could cause “disruptions in the sectors of public services, transport, including at border crossings and at airports, as well as in the field of telecommunications”.