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๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Finland /Conflict & Security

EU sanctions Russia over widespread cyberattacks targeting member states

From Helsingin Sanomat · () Finnish

Translated from Finnish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • The European Union accuses Russia's FSB of conducting extensive and serious cyber operations against EU member states and international partners, including Finland.
  • These operations, ongoing for years, have involved infiltrating government networks and sabotaging critical infrastructure, with Finland, France, Germany, and Poland among the targets.
  • In response, the EU is imposing sanctions on nine individuals and four entities linked to these cyberattacks, while Britain also announced its own sanctions.

The European Union has formally accused Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) of engaging in a sustained campaign of malicious cyber activities targeting its member states and international partners. The EU Council stated that the FSB's 16th central unit has directed numerous cyber operations for years, escalating in severity and scope.

Russia's security service FSB has for years practiced extensive and ever more serious malicious cyber operations targeting the EU, its member states and international partners, especially Ukraine.

โ€” EU Council statementThe EU Council statement detailing the accusations against Russia's FSB.

These operations have included attempts to infiltrate government networks and sabotage critical infrastructure. Finland was identified as one of the countries targeted by these Russian cyber operations, alongside nations such as France, Germany, Poland, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Austria, Slovakia, and Romania. The specific nature of the attacks against Finland was not detailed, but Finland's own security intelligence service, Supo, recently warned of Russian cyber espionage targeting businesses, linking it to the same FSB unit.

Finland is one of the countries that have been the target of EU cyber operations.

โ€” EU Council statementIdentifying Finland as a victim of Russian cyber operations.

In a decisive response to these cyber threats, the EU has implemented sanctions against nine individuals and four organizations. The sanctioned entities include Russian military intelligence officers, alleged cybercriminals, and private companies accused of contributing to Russia's efforts to destabilize the EU and its allies. Britain has also announced its own set of sanctions against 24 individuals and entities for similar reasons. Germany and France have summoned Russian ambassadors to protest the cyberattacks.

Some solicitors think that if they put enough pressure on the system to disrupt cases, that this is going to result in political pressure on me, and I'm going to revoke the regulations. That's not going to happen.

โ€” Minister Jim O'CallaghanMinister O'Callaghan's response to solicitors threatening to disrupt cases over new legal aid fees.
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Originally published by Helsingin Sanomat in Finnish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.