US, UK governments blame Russia for 2017 NotPetya cyberattack

The US and UK governments have officially blamed Russia for the NotPetya cyberattacks that happened in summer 2017. The White House and the UK's National Cyber Security Centre have both released statements about the attack, each condemning the Russian government for "the most destructive and costly cyber-attack in history."READ: There's a huge ransomware attack going on: What you need to know

The cyberattack, which has been dubbed NotPetya, was launched in June 2017 by Russia. Private security officials have blamed the Russian government since the attack happened, and now both US and UK governments are officially joining those ranks.

In a very brief statement, the White House said NotPetya "was part of the Kremlin's ongoing effort to destabilize Ukraine and demonstrates ever more clearly Russia's involvement in the ongoing conflict."

The US government went on to call Russia's actions "reckless and indiscriminate," threatening that the cyberattack "will be met with international consequences." For its part, the UK's Foreign Office Minister for Cyber Security Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon said:

The Kremlin has positioned Russia in direct opposition to the West yet it doesn't have to be that way. We call upon Russia to be the responsible member of the international community it claims to be rather then secretly trying to undermine it. The United Kingdom is identifying, pursuing and responding to malicious cyber activity regardless of where it originates, imposing costs on those who would seek to do us harm. We are committed to strengthening coordinated international efforts to uphold a free, open, peaceful and secure cyberspace.

SOURCE: Gov.uk, White House