REVIEW - Netherlands, US Accuse Russian Intelligence Of Cyberattacks Against Int'l Organizations

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th October, 2018) The authorities of the Netherlands and the United States have accused Russian intelligence services of alleged cyberattacks against different international organizations, including the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), anti-doping agencies and sports federations.

No proof was given to support these allegations. The Russian Foreign Ministry responded by accusing Western governments of rampant "spy mania."

A source in the Russian Foreign Ministry has called the Dutch accusations that Russia allegedly attempted to carry out a cyberattack on the OPCW "nonsense," since Moscow had access to all of the organization's information.

Dutch Defense Minister Ank Bijleveld said on Thursday that four Russian citizens had been expelled from the Netherlands in April on suspicion of an attempted cyberattack on the OPCW, noting that the suspects had diplomatic passports.

Russia's charge d'affaires in the Netherlands was summoned to the country's Foreign Ministry in connection with cyberattack accusations, the diplomatic mission told Sputnik.

Moreover, the Dutch Defense Ministry published a presentation containing photos of the four Russians, their Names and the images of passports of the alleged Russian agents.

According to Dutch Maj. Gen. Onno Eichelsheim, the head of the Dutch Defence Intelligence and Security Service (DISS), their names were: Aleksei Morenets, Evgenii Serebriakov, Oleg Sotnikov and Alexey Minin.

"The 4 Russian intelligence officers entered the Netherlands via Schiphol Airport, travelling on diplomatic passports. They subsequently hired a car which they positioned in the parking lot of the Marriot Hotel in The Hague, which is adjacent to the OPCW offices. Equipment was set up in the boot of the car with which the officers intended to hack into wifi networks and which was installed for the purpose of infiltrating the OPCW's network. The antenna for this equipment lay hidden under a jacket on the rear shelf and the equipment was operational when DISS interrupted the operation," the Dutch Defense Ministry's statement read.

Eichelsheim noted that Sotnikov, who is one of the suspects, allegedly carried large amounts of cash on him, totaling to $20,000 and 20,000 Euros ($23,000).

The Dutch accusations have prompted immediate reaction of the Western community, including NATO. UK Prime Minister Theresa May and her Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte said in a joint statement on Thursday that the cyberattacks allegedly committed by Russian military intelligence service showed disregard for global values and rules.

NATO, in particular, expressed solidarity with Amsterdam in it's accusations and urged Moscow to change it's behavior.

"NATO Allies stand in solidarity with the decision by the Dutch and British governments to call out Russia on its blatant attempts to undermine international law and institutions. Russia must stop its reckless pattern of behaviour, including the use of force against its neighbours, attempted interference in election processes, and widespread disinformation campaigns," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement.

The UK Foreign Office said that London assesses with "high confidence" that the Russian military intelligence service GRU was "almost certainly" responsible for a series of cyberattacks on political institutions, media outlets and infrastructure across the globe, including in the United Kingdom, and plans to respond to it together with allies.

"Our message is clear: together with our allies, we will expose and respond to the GRU's attempts to undermine international stability," UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said in the statement.

Hunt added that the United Kingdom will discuss with its allies further sanctions against Russia following new cyberattacks allegations.

US Secretary of Defense James Mattis said on Thursday during a press briefing at the NATO Defense Ministerial in Brussels that the Dutch and British are correct to attribute recent cyberattacks to the Russian foreign intelligence service based on the evidence.

"I've seen enough of the evidence to say the Dutch and British are 100 percent accurate in who they have attributed this to," Mattis told reporters after a meeting of NATO ministers adding that different ways of response can be considered.

President of the European Council Donald Tusk and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, on their part, expressed concern about an alleged operation by GRU to undermine the integrity of the OPCW.

The Dutch Defense Ministry announced earlier in the day that the Untied States intends to announce charges against some "Russian intelligence agents." Later that day, Washington filed charges against seven alleged Russian military intelligence officers for taking part in what it says was a conspiracy to hack US, Canadian and international organizations.

"We announce an indictment charging seven Russian military officers with violation of several US criminal laws for malicious cyber activites against the United States and its allies," Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers told reporters.

The United States aims to bring the defendants to Pittsburgh and eventually put them into jail, the Justice Department officials added.

A subsequent press release from the Justice Department named the seven defendants.

"The defendants, all Russian nationals and residents, are Aleksei Sergeyevich Morenets, 41, Evgenii Mikhaylovich Serebriakov, 37, Ivan Sergeyevich Yermakov, 32, Artem Andreyevich Malyshev, 30, and Dmitriy Sergeyevich Badin, 27, who were each assigned to Military Unit 26165, and Oleg Mikhaylovich Sotnikov, 46, and Alexey Valerevich Minin, 46, who were also GRU officers," the press release said.

The seven Russian military officers under indictment allegedly targeted a nuclear power company in the US state of Pennsylvania, multiple anti-doping agencies and athletes, according to the Justice Department. The company, Westinghouse, based in Pittsburgh, supplied nuclear fuel to Ukraine, Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania Scott Brady told reporters.

The Justice Department said at least 250 athletes from 30 different countries were also targeted.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has commented on the Western allegations and responded to the statements of the Dutch Defense Ministry on the alleged cyber attacks on the OPCW.

"The Western spy mania is growing stronger," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Later in the day, the ministry said that the anti-Russian "spymania campaign" unleashed in the Netherlands seriously harms bilateral relations with Russia.

"We have repeatedly warned the Dutch side, including through diplomatic channels, that the anti-Russian spy mania campaign launched in the country, accompanied by deliberate leaks in the media about the alleged cyber attacks, causes serious harm to bilateral relations," the ministry said in a statement.

A source in the Russian Foreign Ministry has stressed earlier in the day that there were and could be no such attacks.

"Why should we hack anything? We have access, the entire network is open to us. This is yet another nonsense," the source said.

Russian senior lawmakers called these West's accusations politically motivated and groundless.

"All this painfully recalls the propaganda methods of the Cold War era. This is absolutely dead-end and destructive line," Russian State Duma international affairs committee chairman Leonid Slutsky said.

First deputy head of the Russian upper house international committee Vladimir Dzhabarov told Sputnik that Moscow will respond to the expulsion of its citizens with diplomatic passports from the Netherlands in kind.