UNKNOWN HACKERS POST SOVIET PROPAGANDA ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L VILNIUS 000516 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/01/2018 TAGS: EINT PROP XG LH SUBJECT: UNKNOWN HACKERS POST SOVIET PROPAGANDA ON LITHUANIAN WEBSITES Classified By: Charge Damian R. Leader for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Ministry of National Defense Head of Cyber Defense Policy Karolis Aleksa confirmed to Post July 1 recent media reporting that over the weekend of June 28-30 unknown hackers broke into approximately 300 websites in Lithuania, including those of the ruling Social Democratic Party and the Chief Official Ethics Commission, as well as business sites such as the grocery chain Rimi. On each site, these hackers posted the Soviet hammer and sickle symbol and anti-Lithuanian propaganda, "you scoundrels are all crazy, do you consider yourselves to be the most noble of nations?... your fate is clear - spite and failure..." ¶2. (C) Head of the Network and Information Security Division at the Communications Regulatory Authority Rytis Rainys told Post in the same meeting that his agency received advance warning about the attacks June 28 from three sources: two Estonian media outlets - one TV and one magazine, and from Lithuanian intelligence sources who had been monitoring pro-Russian online forums. Based on this information, he advised extra online security precautions to all government ministries and agencies. Intelligence sources later confirmed to Rainys that the various symbols and propaganda posted on the hacked sites matched those originally found on the online forums. ¶3. (C) MoND Communications and Information Systems Service Head LTC Saulius Japertas said the GOL has reached no conclusions as to the source or perpetrators of the attack however they have not ruled out the "country to the east." Japertas characterized these attacks as not that serious because no government or financial institutions were seriously affected, and no data was stolen from the sites that were. Rainys said that as of June 30, all affected sites were operating normally. Aleksa could not say when official conclusions on these attacks would be announced. LEADER