Robert Fico Slovakia
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in December 2024. Credit: Robert Fico / Instagram

Ukraine denies involvement in cyberattack against Slovakia

Ukraine has denied allegations of involvement in a cyberattack on Slovakia's national insurance company, following accusations by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.

“We categorically reject any hints of Ukraine's involvement in a cyberattack,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry said in a statement late last week. Kyiv also pledged its solidarity with Slovakia and urged Fico “to stop looking for imaginary enemies in Ukraine.”

On Friday, Fico said Ukraine was involved in a “massive cyberattack” on the General Health Insurance Company (VšZP).

The statement, which did not include evidence of Ukraine’s involvement, comes amid escalating tensions between the two countries following Kyiv’s suspension of Russian gas transit through Slovak territory. 

Meanwhile, Fico is facing backlash in Slovakia, with tens of thousands taking to the streets to protest his pro-Russian stance, as well as his recent trip to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The goal of the attack, Fico said, was espionage, but the hackers didn’t manage to steal or leak any data. "If successful, the attack would have made it impossible to provide medical care in Slovakia,” he said during a press conference. 

In a statement on Saturday, VšZP confirmed that its infrastructure had not been compromised and that policyholder data was not at risk. The company has not disclosed the type of attack it suffered, but several local media outlets reported that it was a phishing attack. VšZP is the largest health insurance provider in the country.

Fico described the incident as an example of “how to eliminate disobedient governments that have a different opinion on certain matters.” He also blamed such destabilizing activities in the country on opposition leaders, foreign-funded nongovernmental organizations and the media.

This is not the first time Slovakia has accused Ukraine of involvement in a cyberattack on its systems. In January, the country’s Agriculture Minister Richard Takac said there were “strong indications” that a recent cyberattack on Slovakia’s land registry originated from Ukraine, although he did not provide any evidence. Kyiv has not responded to these allegations.

Earlier in January, a hacker group with unknown affiliations claimed responsibility for breaching Rosreestr, a Russian government agency responsible for managing property and land records. While the agency denied its systems were breached, it confirmed that an investigation into the hackers’ claims was underway.

Ukraine also faced a major cyberattack on its state registers last month, with suspected Russian threat actors targeting several Ukrainian databases containing sensitive official records, such as biometric data, property ownership, and business and tax records. As of the time of writing, Ukraine has restored access to all key services impacted by the attack.

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Daryna Antoniuk

Daryna Antoniuk

is a reporter for Recorded Future News based in Ukraine. She writes about cybersecurity startups, cyberattacks in Eastern Europe and the state of the cyberwar between Ukraine and Russia. She previously was a tech reporter for Forbes Ukraine. Her work has also been published at Sifted, The Kyiv Independent and The Kyiv Post.