A group known as Cyber Berkut claimed responsibility, and were able to take down multiple Nato sites including ccdcoe.org and its main website nato.int using a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. The attack took place on the eve of a vote in Crimea, which favoured the region leaving the Ukraine and joining Russia.
Cyber Berkut took issue with Nato forces occupying areas of Ukraine, accusing them of spreading propaganda through the media and social networks. The group has also worked to block multiple news websites in the region, which it said are guilty of "double standards".
In a post on its website, Cyber Berkut said the ease by which it was able to take down three Nato websites reflected badly on the alliance's other operations: "If Nato cannot protect their resources, the protection of personal data of ordinary Europeans cannot be considered," it said.
Nato said that no other systems had been affected and that the integrity of the alliance's data remained secure.
DDoS attacks are often the easiest way for smaller groups to make their presence felt quickly, using botnets of hijacked computers to send a barrage of requests to web servers in order to take them down. These websites are often unprepared for such traffic and buckle under the strain.
Last year, Nato announced plans to create new teams of elite cyber defence experts intended to deal with highly sophisticated threats, but has seemingly been unable to defend its own websites this time round.
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