A recent cyber attack, which occurred on Wednesday (23), affected Ukrainian government websites, including those of political institutions, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and private companies, such as banks.

The portals have fallen victim to a 'data wiper' and have been taken offline as a result, according to security companies ESET and Symantec. This new type of computer virus has the function of breaking into new computers.

Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov confirmed that several websites were overwhelmed with service requests and were unavailable almost simultaneously.

Earlier this week the Ukrainian government said it would be prepared for possible cyber intrusions against websites of its government agencies, banks, and the defense sector.

The file that hacked hundreds of Ukrainian portals would have been compiled on December 28, 2021. This suggests that the preparation for the cyberattack has been going on for about two months at least.

Symantec researcher Vikram Thakur said that the attacks have already reached other countries.

"We see activity in Ukraine and Latvia," he said.

The company later added that the cyber virus was also identified in Lithuania.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby did not attribute the latest cyber attack to Russia, only saying that the disruptions in cyberspace were "from a Russian primer."

The Russian government blamed Moscow for the cyber attacks, but Russia denied any involvement.