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No political context behind May 12 cyber attack - Russian expert

Artyom Sychev, a deputy chief of the Russian Central Bank’s cyber security department said that the attack’s methods indicate that it was not well-prepared

MOSCOW, May 15. /TASS/. There is no political context behind the global WannaCry cyber virus attack of May 12, a Russian expert said on Monday.

"I don’t think there is any political implications behind such attacks," Artyom Sychev, a deputy chief of the Russian Central Bank’s cyber security department, said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 television channel.

He said that the attack’s methods indicate that it was not well-prepared. Otherwise, in his words, "more serious problems would have followed."

Numerous ransomware attacks were reported worldwide on May 12, 2017. Around 45,000 cyber attacks were made using a virus that infects computer files and extorts ransom to unblock them. Most attempts to infect computers were registered in Russia targeting computer networks of Russia’s emergencies and interior ministries, Megafon and Vimpelcom mobile operators, Russian Railways Co, Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank and other banks.