Venezuela Under Cyberattack: Over 106 State Institutions Targeted

Over 106 state institutions have been subjected to cyber attacks in Venezuela since July 28—the date of the Venezuelan presidential elections—according to reports from the Venezuelan minister for science and technology, Gabriela Jiménez.

In an interview on the programme Aquí y Ahora—broadcast by the news outlet La IguanaTV—Jiménez explained that these attacks have increased since last Monday, August 12, when the National Defense Council and the Council of State met to establish the National Cybersecurity Council.

She explained that these attacks have been designed specifically to target government institutions, and thus steal information from the state. “They have stolen information from some of these websites,” Jiménez continued. “Recently, we saw that the CONVIASA payroll was published. When they publish payrolls of users, military personnel, officials, what they want is to generate terror, terrorism, uncertainty.”

The minister also pointed out that in the reasoning for these attacks, there is a large ongoing investment to “promote cyberwar” against Venezuela. She noted that those responsible for these actions have invested over $150 million in attempts to damage Venezuelan technological infrastructure.

She explained that there lies an entire infrastructure behind these attacks, including some form of energy service and supply, thousands of computers, and numerous software bugs and viruses.

Minister Jiménez detailed that they pay $5,000 for each terabyte of data targeted. “If we have received 30 million attacks, this amounts to an investment of $150 million,” she stated, commenting that most of the attacks come from abroad, particularly from the US.

Geopolitical center
Jiménez further highlighted that Venezuela is currently a center for energy geopolitics in the world, due to the reserves of minerals and natural resources it possesses.

“There is no way that transnational technology companies can develop their plans if they do not have access to Venezuela’s energy resources. Energy resources, rare earths,” she said, explaining that under Venezuelan soil, there is a significant reserve of gas and oil, as well as highly sought after minerals such as uranium, coltan, and silica, among other resources that are necessary for technological corporations.

In the interview, Minister Jiménez referred to statements made by Edward Snowden, who claimed that the US National Security Agency (NSA) is just days away from “taking over the Internet” with a massive expansion of its surveillance powers.

Snowden made the remarks following th3 introduction of a bill in the US that would allow the NSA to compel internet service providers to provide them with confidential data.

Venezuela Launches National Cybersecurity Council

Jiménez noted that the technological platforms used by the Venezuelan National Electoral Council were developed so that the electoral process would be rigorous, transparent, and encourage voting.

However, she explained that mainstream media outlets—backed by Washington and its imperial allies—have been responsible for generating “a trend to smear the Venezuelan electoral process.”

Affected institutions
Affected institutions include the online outlets of mayors, governors, companies, and media, including but not limited to: