Swiss govt hit by cyberattack ahead of Ukraine peace summit
The National Cyber Security Centre said the distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, which make websites or network resources unavailable by flooding them with malicious traffic, resulted in minor outages.
"A first DDoS attack on various federal government websites and organisations involved in the summit on peace in Ukraine began this morning," the NCSC said.
"The attacks were expected and are presumed to be in connection with the summit. They resulted in minor outages... The operation of the affected units was not significantly affected."
The NCSC said it would issue regular updates.
"The DDoS attacks are intended to impact the availability of websites. The security of data and systems was never at risk. Hacktivists use such cyberattacks to launch disruptive manoeuvres in cyberspace to spread political messages and attract attention," it said.
"The attacks are within the expected range and there is currently no acute danger."
On Saturday and Sunday, Switzerland will host the first Summit on Peace in Ukraine, at the luxury Burgenstock resort outside Lucerne.
The Swiss government says dozens of countries have confirmed their participation.
The summit will try to come up with a roadmap for involving both Ukraine and Russia in a future peace process.
Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow said it was not interested in attending the conference and therefore was not invited.
NATO eyes clampdown on Russian agents over hybrid attacks
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) June 13, 2024 -
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday allies could impose "tighter restrictions" on Russian intelligence operatives after a string of sabotage attacks on the bloc's members.
He said NATO defence ministers meeting in Brussels would discuss plans to counter a "Russian campaign of hostile activities against NATO allies".
"We have seen several examples of sabotage, of arson, attempts of cyber attacks, of disinformation," Stoltenberg said.
He said ministers would work on "response options", expected to include closer intelligence sharing, bolstering protection of critical infrastructure, and "tighter restrictions on Russian intelligence personnel across the alliance".
Western governments have sounded the alarm about what say is a growing wave of Russian hybrid action on NATO territory in Europe.
Poland last month said it would restrict the movements of Russian diplomats after the arrest of several people suspected of planning sabotage attacks on behalf of Moscow's security services.
Authorities in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and Britain have also recently investigated and charged people over alleged "hostile" activities blamed on Russia.
Officials suggest Moscow's aim could be to sow discord among NATO allies and to try to pressure them into halting weapons supplies to Ukraine.
"Russia's actions will not stop us from supporting Ukraine," Stoltenberg pledged on Wednesday.
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