Ukraine says faces almost daily hacker attacks

[December 18, 2020]  KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine is facing almost daily hacker attacks on its government resources and intends to sharply strengthen its cyber security, Ukrainian state security service SBU said on Friday.

Acting Head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Ivan Bakanov nominated to become new head of Security Service, delivers a speech during the first session of newly-elected parliament in Kiev, Ukraine August 29, 2019. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

"The scale of the infiltration into government information resources is impressive - attacks occur almost daily. The conclusions are simple - we need to act immediately and systematically," SBU head Ivan Bakanov said on Telegram.

He gave no details on the attacks.

Ukraine and its institutions have been the victims of repeated cyber attacks, including an incident in 2019 in which a virus was downloaded in a tax accounting programme and spread to wreak havoc around the globe.

Kyiv has also previously accused Moscow of orchestrating large-scale cyber attacks as part of a "hybrid war" against Ukraine, which Russia denies.

In January, Ukraine's top state security body acknowledged that some citizens' personal data had been leaked from a portal advertising jobs for government employees.

Ukraine's national police website had been temporarily shut down after it was hacked.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, editing by Louise Heavens)

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