Dutch defence minister has said Netherlands disrupted Russian hacking attack and expelled four Russian intelligence officers.
In April, authorities disrupted an attempt by Russian intelligence agents to hack the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Defence Minister Ank Bijleveld said at a press conference in the Hague.
Bijleveld called on Russia to cease its cyber activities aimed at “undermining” Western democracies.
“The Dutch government finds the involvement of these intelligence operatives extremely worrisome,” Bijleveld said.
“Normally we don’t reveal this type of counter-intelligence operation.”
This comes as Britain accused Kremlin spies of directing a host of cyber attacks aimed at undermining Western democracies by sowing confusion in everything from sport to transport and the 2016 US presidential election.
Britain’s Defence Minister Gavin Williamson said Moscow’s “reckless and indiscriminate” attacks left it isolated in the international community.
“This is not the actions of a great power, this is the actions of a pariah state and we’ll continue working with allies to isolate, make them understand they cannot continue to conduct themselves in such a way,” Williamson told reporters in Brussels.
Russia on Thursday rejected British accusations its spies were behind global cyber attacks, saying the allegations were unworthy and part of a disinformation campaign designed to damage Russian interests, the TASS news agency reported.
Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told a news briefing that the accusations were the product of someone with a “rich imagination”.
“It’s some kind of a diabolical perfume cocktail [of allegations],” TASS quoted Zakharova as telling reporters.
“The vivid imagination of our colleagues from the UK has no boundaries indeed […] it’s undignified for the country, which pretends to play one of the leading roles in the world,” she said.
Al Jazeera’s Paul Brennan, speaking from London, said Thursday’s reaction is notable.
“Most if not all advanced intelligence agencies engage in hacking,” he said. “But it seems today that what we’re seeing is a coordinated campaign against Russia specifically because the activities that Russia has been engaging in go far beyond what in normal intelligence circles would be regarded as acceptable”.
SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies
