The attack started on August 22 and continues. This was confirmed by the government of this small country of 620,000 inhabitants and 13,000 km2, barely larger than a French department. The first salvo of cyber attacks therefore started on August 22 and a second salvo took over on August 26. The computer systems of several public institutions were infected, including that of the Ministry of Finance.
The electrical system would also have been targeted: the public operator has also switched to manual mode so as not to take any risks. The online services of some administrations are no longer available. The government of Montenegro claims that residents’ personal data is protected, but does not provide proof. He advises all the same to the inhabitants to make copies, backups, of their most important data. According to the United States, these computer attacks could also cause disruptions in Montenegro in transport, airports, border crossings, telecommunications. In short, the country is not out of the woods.
The public authorities of Montenegro therefore suspect Russia: during a press conference on Monday, August 29, the Minister of Public Administration underlined the professionalism of these attacks, prepared according to him for a long time. The National Security Agency (ANB) clearly accuses Moscow of having coordinated this offensive. The country has received logistical support from several Western NATO countries, notably France, which also plans to create a cyber coordination center in Montenegro.
The hypothesis of a Russian origin is plausible because Montenegro is in Moscow’s sights. Stuck between Albania, Bosnia and Serbia, it is part of this region of the Balkans that Russia considers to be part of its zone of influence. Except that for 10 years, Montenegro has continued to distance itself from Moscow, first becoming an official candidate for membership of the European Union in 2010, then joining NATO in 2017. Last March , Montenegro followed suit with the Europeans on sanctions against Moscow after the start of the war in Ukraine. In the aftermath, Russia retaliated by classifying Montenegro in its list of “enemy countries”.
At the beginning of the war in Ukraine, we had feared serial cyberattacks, and we can have the impression that they are finally rare. But just because we don’t talk about them doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Let’s say instead that they seem to have done relatively little damage so far or else the damage is well concealed. But that does not mean the absence of attacks.
At the start of the war, in February, Moscow launched several cyber offensives against Ukrainian banks and administrations, that is proven. And just before the summer, the American company Microsoft estimated the number of countries already attacked by Russian hackers for six months at forty-two. Priority targets: Ukraine of course, and also the Baltic countries and the Nordic countries. Microsoft also specifies that 20% of these computer attacks target companies. Most of the time, nothing filters. Montenegro is therefore a revealer, like the tip of the iceberg.