Over the last two years, authorities in Montenegro have recorded a sharp rise in cyberattacks, mostly targeting state institutions and media outlets in that aspiring EU state on the Adriatic. With a presidential election looming on April 15, the recent NATO entrant and its 650,000 residents are girding for another possible wave of hacks. Montenegro and other countries in the Balkans fear meddling from Moscow to further what they believe is an expansion of Russian foreign policy. Officials in Podgorica feel their country is especially vulnerable, as the winner of the presidential vote is likely to steer Montenegro through early negotiations on EU accession, a move the Kremlin staunchly opposes.
The European Union recently drafted a new expansion strategy that envisages Montenegro joining the bloc by 2025.
“We are doing everything to be prepared the best we can,” Milica Jankovic, the head of the Directorate for Electronic Administration and Information Security at the Public Administration Ministry, told RFE/RL.
“We are organizing prevention and monitoring systematically, and we will try to recognize the attacks and predict them before they arise.”
Full Article: Montenegro Seeks To Stare Down Fancy Bear As Election Looms.