The Lithuanian government has announced a possible leak of classified documents as a result of a cyber attack on the servers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Defense Minister Arvidas Anushauskas said that the break-in was committed in November last year. According to him, Moscow is suspected of involvement in the incident:
“Groups of hackers who are active in our region, organize cyberattacks, hack databases, usually associated with the Russian secret services. Cyberattacks on our institutions and crimes related to unauthorized access to their information are ongoing, but they are not always successful. ”
Some materials of the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs are published on the Internet. Reports on behalf of the hackers said that they had stolen more than 1.5 million documents, including those classified as “secret”. They allegedly reveal information about Vilnius’ cooperation with NATO countries, preparations for war with Minsk, and opposition to the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline. Marius Laurinavičius, an expert at the Vilnius Institute for Political Analysis, talks about the serious reputational risks for Lithuania and the threat of publishing fakes among these documents:
“There will be attempts to use this to discredit, it’s obvious. In addition, the disclosed information will be analyzed, weaknesses will be sought so that it can be used for pressure later. ”
The Ministry of Defense insists that effective measures have been taken to protect government servers since the November hacking. Commenting on the cyberattacks, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said that the leak of classified information harms the country’s image and could cause serious damage to its allies.