The Diplomat
The Ministry of Defence blames Russia for the cyber-attack on 16 and 17 July on the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), a body under the Ministry of Science and Innovation, which left many of its centres without a network connection.
This was revealed yesterday by the Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, after a visit to the Ukrainian embassy to discuss the shipments of arms and humanitarian aid material that Spain is sending, as well as the situation of Ukrainian refugees.
Robles assured that the cyberattack on the CSIC was communicated to the National Cryptologic Centre, which depends on the National Intelligence Centre (CNI), as soon as it was detected and “the appropriate measures were taken” to intercept it.
According to him, this type of Russian actions related to hybrid warfare are in addition to the conventional military attack that Ukraine is suffering. “Just as Russia is attacking Ukraine, it is using other types of hybrid weapons such as the one we are dealing with,” he said.
The Ministry of Science and Innovation said yesterday that the attack was a ransomware-type attack, similar to those suffered by other research centres such as the Max Planck Institute and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
He also said that no loss or hijacking of sensitive or confidential information had been detected, although the measures employed to resolve the attack have involved cutting off access to the network in several centres.
