Montenegro Accuses Russia of Cyber-Attacks on Govt Server

Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic (left) and head of National Security Agency Savo Kentera (right) in Budva. Photo: Atlantic Council of Montenegro

The ANB told media that Montenegro is in what it called a hybrid war at the moment.

"Coordinated Russian services are behind the cyber-attack. This kind of attack was carried out for the first time in Montenegro, and it has been prepared for a long period of time," the ANB told media.

On August 22, the government reported the first series of cyber-attacks on its server but said it managed to prevent any damage.

On Friday, outgoing Minister of Public Administration Maras Dukaj said that the government server has come under another attack but said the authorities took timely defensive measures and some servers were temporarily taken offline.

Outgoing Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic described the cyber-attacks as dangerous and politically motivated. He called a National Security Council session about the cyber-attacks for late Friday.

"Citizens' personal data is completely safe for now and all direct attacks on the government and its institutions have been suppressed… The first attack happened a few hours after the government's no-confidence vote last week. I warned it could lead to destabilisation," Abazovic said.

Montenegro's minority government collapsed on August 19, after parliament backed a vote of no-confidence called by the party of President Milo Djukanovic and smaller parties in the ruling coalition, worsening the country's political instability.

The administration led by the leader of the Civic Movement URA, Dritan Abazovic, became the government with the shortest period in power in Montenegrin political history - it only came to office in April.