Canada condemns Russia’s malicious cyber-activity targeting Georgia

February 20, 2020 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada

Global Affairs Canada today issued the following statement on Russia’s malicious cyber-activity targeting Georgia:

“Today, Canada joins its allies in identifying and exposing malicious cyber-activities by Russia targeting Georgia.

“On October 28, 2019, over 15,000 Georgian government websites and media outlets were taken offline and defaced in yet another attempt by Russia to destabilize Georgia and undermine its democratic institutions. According to our assessment, these actions were carried out by the Sandworm Team, who are sponsored by the cyber-units of Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU.

“Canada strongly condemns these malicious activities. These actions are aimed at sowing discord in Georgia ahead of their parliamentary elections later this year and show blatant disregard for international law, norms and agreements.

“They represent 1 case in an ongoing series of malicious activities by Russia, including the use of the NotPetya malware, which caused significant disruption in Ukraine in 2017; and the hacking of international sport and anti-doping organizations in 2018, including the Canada-based World Anti-Doping Agency and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport.

“Canada remains steadfast in its solidarity with allies and partners in calling out malicious state-sponsored cyber-activity. We remain committed to working with partners to maintain the open, reliable and secure use of cyberspace, and we call upon Russia to cease these activities immediately.”