Russian Foreign Ministry: claims of Russia's role in cyberattack on Swedish Sports Confederation not confirmed by facts
MOSCOW. April 19 (Interfax) - Swedish prosecutors' allegations that Russia is involved in a cyberattack on the Swedish Sports Confederation have not been confirmed by any facts, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.
"The Swedish side's claims about Russia's alleged involvement in the 'hacker attacks' on the Swedish Sports Confederation in 2017-2018 have not been confirmed by any facts. We also underscore that the investigation has lasted more than three years, no more no less," Zakharova told Interfax.
Moscow "considers this unfriendly move by Stockholm, which is far from being the first such move, as another example of insinuations," she said.
"Sweden's fight against imaginary threats also resembles an intrusive phobia. It suffices to recall its on-and-off hunt for unknown submarines," Zakharova said.
Moscow has many times informed Swedish representatives of its readiness to discuss "not imaginary, but real security threats in any format that suits them," she said.
Specifically, Russia has repeatedly invited Sweden via diplomatic channels to develop cooperation as part of the National Computer Incident Response and Coordination Center, which was established by Russia in 2018. Regrettably, the Swedish side has once again preferred megaphone diplomacy to a substantive dialogue," Zakharova said.
The Swedish Prosecution Authority said on April 13 that the Russian military intelligence GRU illegally obtained data from the Swedish Sports Confederation in 2017 and 2018. Public prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said that the cyberattack, which resulted in GRU accessing Swedish athletes' personal details, such as medical records, was "part of a Russian campaign directed against national and international anti-doping organizations such as WADA and USADA." The campaign has also been directed against FIFA," the prosecutor said.