Austria Summons Russian Ambassador Over Cyberattacks

Austria's Foreign Ministry has summoned the Russian ambassador in Vienna following a joint statement by all 27 EU member states condemning Russian cyberattacks.

For the first time, the statement officially attributes a series of cyberattacks carried out between 2019 and 2020 to the Turla hacking group, which the EU says is controlled by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB). Austria, Germany, Poland and France were among the countries affected. According to media reports, the attackers obtained sensitive internal information relating to Russia.

Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger said Austria had described the attacks as unacceptable during talks with the Russian ambassador. She also warned that similar cyberattacks are becoming increasingly frequent.

According to the minister, such attacks threaten not only state institutions but ordinary citizens as well.

(apa, bak)