Hackers attacked Cisco network equipment. A number of providers began to experience problems; the websites of Fontanka and Komsomolskaya Pravda were unavailable

In Russia on the evening of April 6, due to a hacker attack on Cisco network switches, several popular sites were inaccessible, including Fontanka and Komsomolskaya Pravda . Twitter users complained about problems with the service.

We are talking about equipment that is “used in data centers almost everywhere,” said Kaspersky Lab. According to TJournal, Internet providers and users in different regions of Russia reported problems. It was, in particular, about the providers RuWeb, MGTS, Skynet and Akado.

By the morning of April 7, the sites and services affected by the attack announced the resumption of work.

The attack used a vulnerability in the Cisco Smart Install Client program that allows overwriting a configuration file on a device, Kaspersky Lab reported. In its place, the hackers left a file with an image of an American flag and the words "Do not mess with our elections" ("Do not interfere in our elections").

• On April 5, the Cisco Talos research team warned of attacks in different countries using a vulnerability in the Cisco Smart Install Clients program, which is used to remotely configure equipment. Talos said that it could be hackers who in the United States are associated with the Russian government. Cisco has published a patch to fix the problem.
• US authorities accuse Russia of interfering in the 2016 presidential election. It is alleged that the Russian Federation used propaganda and hacker attacks to do this. Russia denies these accusations.