Spanish research center suffers cyberattack linked to Russia

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s leading scientific research body was targeted by a cyberattack that national authorities suspect had its origin in Russia, the country’s science ministry said Tuesday.

Spain’s science ministry said the Spanish National Research Council was targeted by the ransomware attack on July 16-17.

A preliminary analysis by Spain’s cybersecurity authorities said that it appears that no sensitive or confidential information was extracted.

In a statement, the ministry said that the cyberattack was similar to others carried out against NASA in the United States and the Max Planck Institute in Germany.

Even though it appears the attack failed, the security protocols activated to ensure that it was unsuccessful have left several of the council’s research centers off-line.