Czech Republic accuses Russia of ‘higher dozens’ of cyber attacks

By Ebad Ahmed

PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AA) – The Czech Republic on Friday accused Russia of carrying out “higher dozens” of cyberattacks.

"Some Czech institutions have ... been the target of cyberattacks exploiting a previously unknown vulnerability in Microsoft Outlook from 2023," the Czech Foreign Ministry said in a statement, blaming group APT28, widely known as Fancy Bear, for the alleged attacks.

Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said his country's infrastructure had recently experienced "higher dozens" of such attacks.

"The attacks were orchestrated by the Russian Federation and its military intelligence service GRU," Rakusan told reporters at a news conference with his German counterpart Nancy Faeser.

The Czech Republic, a member of the EU and NATO, has maintained a strong anti-Russian stance in reaction to the war in Ukraine. Like many other Western nations, the Czech Republic has provided military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine since the start of the war in February 2022.

Earlier this week, Czech police blamed the GRU for being behind two blasts at an eastern Czech ammunition depot in 2014 that killed two local workers. The Czech Republic maintained that Russia refused to cooperate on the investigation into the incident.