Bloomberg, an international news agency reported on October 21 that Russia had hacked into almost all Georgian government agencies as well as major companies between 2017 to 2020.
Bloomberg reports that the Georgian Foreign Ministry, Finance Ministry and National Bank were among those hacked, as well as major energy and telecoms providers such as Imedi TV, a pro-government channel, and Maestro. Bloomberg mentions that the Central Election Commission is also one of the hacked entities. The majority of the agencies and businesses mentioned in the Bloomberg article declined to make a comment.
The Bloomberg report notes that “Claims of Russian hackers trying to influence electoral outcomes have become mainstream after the country has been accused of meddling with the U.S. elections in 2016″. It also adds, “The spying campaigns that ran for years prior to the 2020 elections allowed Russia the ability to eavesdrop and control a nation they want to control.”
The report, based on documents seen both by Bloomberg and certain European politicians, claims that the spying gave Moscow the capability to interfere with Georgia’s infrastructure, such as power and communication networks, if Tbilisi veered in an unwanted direction.
According to a document published by the publication, the Russian Intelligence agency searched for vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure such as the network of the Batumi Oil Terminal. Bloomberg reports that by October 2019, several systems including smart cameras had been compromised.
Bloomberg reports that the Russian Chief Intelligence Office has also hacked Georgia’s Central Election Commission (CEC), “likely gaining some email accounts.” The CEC did not respond to Bloomberg.
Bloomberg’s document also shows that hackers connected to Russia’s Federal Security Service, carried out a covert operation for months at Georgia’s Foreign Ministry to “spy on top officials’ email and scoop up data from Georgian embassies in the world”. According to Bloomberg, “from April 2020 to January 20, according to a network log report, the hackers concentrated on pilfering the data of seven Georgian officials including a deputy foreign minister and ambassadors of Georgia to the US and EU.”
Bloomberg reports that some European government officials who are not identified have stated that “Georgian Authorities were informed about some Russian hacking by Western counterparts.” It’s not clear if they have taken any action.
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The Daily Beat: Friday, 26 September
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