Ukraine’s M.E. Doc Facing Charges In Latest Cyberattack

M.E. Doc, the Ukrainian tax software company, is under investigation by Ukrainian police and will face charges over a global cyber epidemic.

According to an AP news report, Col. Serhiy Demydiuk, head of the Ukraine’s national cyber police unit, said in an interview that M.E. Doc’s employees received multiple warnings about the company’s lack of security in its IT infrastructure but did nothing about it.

“They knew about it,” said Demydiuk. “They were told many times by various anti-virus firms. … For this neglect, the people in this case will face criminal responsibility.”

Last week, government and law enforcement officials said a disruptive cyberattack was spread as part of a malicious update to M.E. Doc’s tax software program. The program is used by many accountants and businesses in the Ukraine. The code, which the report noted was likely planted by a hacker, was sent across the country prior to the cyberattack.

M.E. Doc first said it did not play a role in the spreading of the malicious code but later removed the statement from its Facebook account. The company says it is cooperating with authorities in the country.

The report noted that officials in the Ukraine were placing the blame for the cyberattack on Russia, although several security experts say it is too early to determine its origins. The Ukraine has been the target of Russian-linked cyberattacks in the past, noted the report. The impact from the latest cyberattack is still unclear as authorities have yet to release information on the number of victims or determine the magnitude of the monetary disruption the virus caused for companies.

The cyber police official told the AP the service was still gathering all the figures and declined to provide an estimate as to the financial impact of the attack.

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