UNITED NATIONS, March 7. /TASS/. Western countries are recruiting hackers to carry out operations against Moscow, Russian representative Irina Tyazhlova said at a meeting of the United Nations open-ended working group on cybersecurity.

"We believe the goal of attempts by the US and its allies to hype up the issue of ‘Russian hackers’ and ‘Russian cyberthreat’ is no longer a secret to anyone. The only goal is to conceal their own destructive activities in cyberspace," the diplomat pointed out. "In fact, NATO countries openly seek to militarize cyberspace, actively increasing their offensive capabilities and improving ways to conduct cyberattacks. There is ample documentary evidence of this, including the public revelations of high-ranking officials’ public revelations of acts of cyber sabotage against Russia," Tyazhlova added.

"After the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, Western nations launched a full-fledged campaign against Russia, seeking to test the strength of our economy, financial and energy sectors and crucial industries," she pointed out.

"Russia’s information facilities keep facing massive cyberattacks, which have increased tenfold since the launch of the special operation," the diplomat went on to say. "The Western bloc actively recruits mercenary hackers and uses the information and communication potential of its allies and the private companies that it controls, deliberately involving users from all over the world into these criminal activities," she stressed.

According to her, "this scenario includes Ukraine as a testing ground." "The West allocates considerable funds, trains personnel and provides technical assistance in increasing the Kiev regime’s offensive cyber potential," Tyazhlova emphasized. "No wonder that they involved Kiev in the activities of the Tallinn-based NATO cyber defense center," she added.