Fico accused Ukraine of a cyberattack on Slovakia. The Foreign Ministry responded.
24 January 21:24
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has accused Ukraine of a cyberattack on the national insurance company. This was reported by Komersant ukrainskyi with reference to Hospodářské noviny.
According to Fico, Slovakia has faced a massive cyberattack, this time targeting the General Health Insurance Fund. He said the attack began around noon, and experts say the VZP has been successfully defending itself so far, but it is unclear what will happen next.
“Who is interested in eliminating Slovak healthcare, complicating patients’ access to medical care and disseminating their personal data?” – asked the Slovak prime minister.
In his opinion, Ukraine was involved in the action and it was an attempt to “eliminate the disobedient.” Fico did not explain what he meant by this phrase.
Earlier in January this year, a cyberattack disrupted the electronic land cadastre system in Slovakia. According to the country’s Ministry of the Interior, a large-scale cyberattack from abroad hit the information system of the Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre Office (ÚGKK). A few days later, Slovak ministers suggested that the attack could have come from Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Robert Fico’s accusations were responded to by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
In an official statement, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs “categorically rejected” the Slovak prime minister’s hints that Ukraine was involved in the cyberattack. This refers to a hacker attack against a health insurance company in Slovakia.
“Once again, we call on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to stop looking for imaginary enemies in Ukraine, which is friendly to Slovakia and the Slovak people,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
