Tbilisi Links Cyberattack on Lugar Lab to Georgian-Russian Political Tensions

TBILISI, September 3- George Volski, the first deputy chair of the Georgian parliament, suggested on Thursday that the recent cyberattack on Tbilisi- based Richard Lugar biological laboratory was connected to a war of words with Russia. There are currently no diplomatic relations between Russia and Georgia, the dialogue between the countries has been…

TBILISI, September 3 (Sputnik) – George Volski, the first deputy chair of the Georgian parliament, suggested on Thursday that the recent cyberattack on Tbilisi-based Richard Lugar biological laboratory was connected to a war of words with Russia.

Earlier in the day, the Georgian Interior Ministry said that the lab, which is part of the country’s Health Ministry, was hit by the cyberattack allegedly carried out by a foreign special service against the entire ministry in an attempt to leak medical records and pandemic-related data.

According to Volski, the attack could have taken place amid “an exchange of critical statements with Russia, baseless accusations on their [Russian] part and harsh response from the Georgian side.”

Meanwhile, Irakli Sesiashvili, the chairman of the defense and security committee, believes that the cyberattack was organized by the Russian special services.

“This is part of a hybrid war and its main goal is propaganda and disinformation. The methodology is known to everyone — you steal information, publish most of it authentically, and, because of its authenticity, spread additional false information,” Sesiashvili said.

There are currently no diplomatic relations between Russia and Georgia, the dialogue between the countries has been maintained as part of the Geneva discussions held since 2012 in Prague. Relations between the two countries were broken by Tbilisi after Moscow recognized the sovereignty of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in 2008.