Hosting provider hack shuts down thousands of websites and TV channel in Georgia

Thousands of websites in Georgia are down due to a major digital attack. The national TV station and its courts have also been attacked. It is unknown who or what is behind the attack.

As a result of the attack, at least 15,000 websites would no longer be accessible, the BBC reports. In some cases, the homepages have been replaced with an image of former Georgian President Saakashvili, with the text ‘I’ll be back’ below. These are websites of companies as well as the website of the president of the country himself, and of various government agencies. An expert tells the BBC that everything looks like an attack by a country.

In addition to websites, the national TV channel is also not accessible. On Facebook, employees write that all computers in the network have been affected and that there is no signal. It is now clear that the attack came from Pro-Service, a local web hosting provider. The company says it has been the victim of a hack that removed its websites. The company says that more than half of its websites have already been put back online. The Ministry of the Interior says it is starting an investigation into the cause of the hack.

Update: the expert quoted by the BBC is not talking specifically about Russia, but only about ‘a state sponsored attack’. This has been adjusted.