The State Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has attributed a cyberattack on state registers managed by the Ministry of Justice to Russian GRU hackers.
During a briefing, Volodymyr Karastelyov, acting head of the SBU Cyber Security Department, stated: “The main version that the SBU is considering is that Russian special services are behind this cyberattack, particularly hacker groups associated with the GRU of the Russian General Staff.”
The SBU is addressing the cyberattack through three key actions:
- Repelling cyberattacks to limit immediate damage.
- Restoring infrastructure and mitigating the aftermath.
- Documenting the attack as a criminal offence.
Criminal proceedings have been initiated under several articles of the Criminal Code, including Article 438 — violation of the laws and customs of war.
Karastelyov emphasised the complexity of the case and refrained from sharing further details, citing operational confidentiality.
“We are working comprehensively, but given the specifics, we cannot disclose all the details,” he said.
- On 19 December, Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna announced what she described as the largest cyberattack on Ukraine’s state registers. Full recovery of operations could take up to two weeks.
- The attack has caused the temporary unavailability of 20 services on Diia, Ukraine’s digital services platform, attributed to technical work by the National Information Systems.
- As of 20 December, Ministry of Internal Affairs service centres have suspended some registration services. All state registers managed by the Ministry of Justice remain offline, forcing the use of paper-based systems for civil status registrations.