Russian espionage threat looms over Georgia's upcoming elections
For several years, Russia has conducted a widespread espionage and hacking campaign targeting the government and large enterprises in Georgia, Bloomberg reported on Monday. It's possible that the gathered information enabled the sabotage of the country's critical infrastructure.
Documents obtained by Bloomberg News indicate that the Russians managed to infiltrate the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, the central bank, and key energy and telecommunications providers. According to the report, the Russian intelligence gained access to Georgian energy companies, oil terminals, media platforms, and government agencies between 2017 and 2020.
Russia infiltrates Georgia
Bloomberg sources stated that Russia has also conducted similar operations "recently. " However, no further details were provided.
Natia Seskuria from the Georgian Regional Institute for Security Studies (RISS) stated that Russia has been infiltrating Georgia for many years. This is particularly concerning and significant in light of the upcoming elections, she added. On 26 October, Georgians will choose a new parliament.
Western partners have informed Georgian authorities about some of the Russian hacking attacks. It's unclear if the authorities in Tbilisi have taken any action on this matter, European officials told Bloomberg.
Giorgi Shaismelashvili from the organisation Civic IDEA in Tbilisi assessed that "Georgia still does not fully realise these threats." In his opinion, Russia may be able to conduct cyberattacks on critical infrastructure if the parliamentary elections lead to a change of power that Moscow does not accept.
In an article titled "How Russian Spies Hacked All of Georgia," Bloomberg described instances of hackers targeting Georgian entities. For example, hackers associated with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) broke into high-ranking officials of the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs email accounts. They gained access to information from Georgian embassies in various countries.
Hackers broke into the Ministry Network
The operation targeting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was reportedly carried out by the hacker group Turla, which, according to the US Department of State, is associated with the FSB. From November to December 2020 alone, hackers broke into the ministry's network and stole data 114 times.
From the end of 2019 to the beginning of 2020, Russian hackers also read emails of employees of the energy distributor Telasi, for instance, and watched them through cameras while they worked. Hackers also attacked another state-owned company in the energy sector, gaining the ability to disable electrical substations and power in some Georgian regions, according to documents cited by the report. One of these documents suggests that GRU, the Russian military intelligence, was behind the attacks.
