The Russian Federation has been at the source of a lot of controversy this year from the international community as the Netherlands, UK and USA have accused them for various cyber-plots.

Earlier today (4th October) the Dutch Government released a statement accusing four Russian agents of attempting to target the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague.

The article explains that the Netherlands Defence Intelligence Security Service intercepted a cyber operation being carried out by a Russian Military Intelligence (GRU) team.

The four Russian officers were seen to have set up equipment in the parking lot of a Marriott Hotel just next to the OPCW building.

Once apprehended, the four were escorted out of the Netherlands as the Dutch Defence Minister Ank Bijleved criticised the operation. She said: “The cyber operation targeting the OPCW is unacceptable.

“Our exposure of this Russian operation is intended as an ambiguous message that the Russian Federation must refrain from such actions”.

She further explained that the OPCW is an institution that represents 193 nations in order to get rid of chemical weapons across the globe.

A breakdown of the investigation details that the four Russian operatives entered the Netherlands through the use of diplomatic passports.

The agents travelled from Schipol, Amsterdam to The Hague and allegedly set up their equipment in the boot of a car close to the OCPW Headquarters with the intention of hacking into the WIFI networks in order to infiltrate the organisation.

The Director of the Netherlands Defence Intelligence Security Service, Major General Onno Eichelsheim, says that the potential sabotage as well as GRU posed a serious threat to the Netherlands. Glad that the nation deflected the threat, Eichelsheim shared his gratitude of the Dutch intelligence personnel.

Further investigation revealed that one of the agents also operated in Malaysia and had previously targeted the investigation into the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 case.

As controversy continues to stir, the UK and USA also accuse Russia of cyber-plots in previous political election scenarios.

The Russian Foreign Ministry denies any allegations put forward.

 

Photo by Adrien Olichon on Unsplash

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