EXCLUSIVE Ukraine suspects group linked to Belarus intelligence over cyberattack

It has previously denied involvement in cyberattacks, including against Ukraine."The defacement of the sites was just a cover for more destructive actions that were taking place behind the scenes and the consequences of which we will feel in the near future," Demedyuk said in written comments.In a reference to UNC1151, he said: "This is a cyber-espionage group affiliated with the special services of the Republic of Belarus."'TRACK RECORD'Demedyuk, who used to be the head of Ukraine's cyber police, said the group had a track record of targeting Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Ukraine and had spread narratives decrying the NATO alliance's presence in Europe."The malicious software used to encrypt some government servers is very similar in its characteristics to that used by the ATP-29 group," he said, referring to a group suspected of involvement in hacking the Democratic National Committee before the 2016 U.S. presidential election."The group specializes in cyber espionage, which is associated with the Russian special services (Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation) and which, for its attacks, resorts to recruiting or undercover work of its insiders in the right company," Demedyuk said.The messages left on the Ukrainian websites on Friday were in three languages: Ukrainian, Russian and Polish.