The government of North Macedonia believes that the continued fake bomb threats against official targets in the country are coming from Russia and Iran. In addition, authorities in Skopje say that payments related to the attacks are being made in cryptocurrency to cover their tracks.
Over 700 facilities targeted in bomb threats in North Macedonia; attackers use crypto
The Balkan country of North Macedonia has received bomb threats allegedly from Russia and Iran. On Monday, Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski said authorities are working hard to keep the country’s security systems secure.
“This is an intense hybrid attack that has targeted more than 720 facilities since October 19,” Spasovski revealed. Citing a report from Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, he noted that some of these cases have already been resolved.” We now have an isolated group and are working on their cases,” Spasovski added, elaborating.
In the past few days, emails have been sent from Iranian and Russian addresses and payments for VPN (virtual private network) services have been made in cryptocurrency, making them difficult to trace.
There have been numerous bomb threats in North Macedonia, Serbia, and neighboring Montenegro since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began last February 24. So far, all of them have proven to be false alarms.
Over the past two months, shopping malls and other public facilities have reportedly been the main targets of such threats, often shutting down work and education for several days.
Serbian authorities allege that foreign intelligence agencies from Ukraine and unidentified members of the European Union were behind the threats. Russia and Iran have yet to comment on the allegations.
In the war between Russia and Ukraine, both sides are using cryptocurrencies to finance their military. According to a report released by blockchain forensics firm Elliptic on the first anniversary of the conflict, Ukrainian supporters have sent at least $212 million in crypto donations, while pro-Russian groups have raised nearly $5 million in digital assets.
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