Opposition Wants Security Council Session Be Convened over Russian Cyber Attacks

Bratislava, 21 July (TASR) - The opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party, MP Veronika Remisova ('Slovakia' party, For the People) and the extra-parliamentary Democrats have called on Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) to convene the Security Council over Russia's cyber activities in Slovakia. According to PS, the attack targeted critical infrastructure, the arms industry, the energy sector and the automotive industry. "And this is not the first such attack," said PS security expert Peter Bator. The party, together with Remisova, have also called on Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) to summon the Russian ambassador and demand an explanation. "At the same time, the process of accepting a Russian military attaché must be halted immediately," added PS. "Are we really going to hire a person who is in charge of these activities in a situation when the Russians are attacking the state's critical infrastructure? Is this what sovereign Slovak diplomacy looks like?" asked Bator. "The premier is silent following the confirmed hacker attacks. We're calling on Fico to cut short his holiday and immediately convene the Security Council. It is clear that if Russia decides to do so, it could disrupt our health-care system, transport networks or energy infrastructure. People deserve to know what measures the government has taken to prevent this from happening," said MP Jan Hargas (PS). According to PS vice-chair Ivan Korcok, the idleness of state authorities in this situation is a threat to Slovakia's security. Former informatisation minister Remisova criticised the government for remaining silent about extremely serious cyberattacks against Slovakia. "Slovakia has become the target of a sophisticated espionage operation by the Russian intelligence service and Fico is silent. The public must receive answers about the extent of the damage and whether this threat is being addressed at all. Such silence in the case of an extremely serious security incident is absolutely unacceptable," said Remisova. The Democrats view the Foreign Affairs Ministry's confirmation that Slovakia was the target of an attack by an elite Russian hacking group as a serious security incident. According to them, this is an attack against national security, not an ordinary cyber incident. The Democrats have called on the government to immediately coordinate further action with partners in NATO and the European Union. Cyberattacks carried out by state-backed groups require a joint and coordinated response from allies, they added. House Chair Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) earlier in the day said that he was not aware of any official request to convene a special House session over cyber activities by the Russian Federation. The Foreign Affairs Ministry told TASR that it takes the malicious cyber activities associated with the 16th Centre of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) utmost seriously. ko