The Russian Ministry of Construction, Housing, and Utilities' website appeared to have been hacked, with a "Glory to Ukraine" sign in Ukrainian appearing while searching for the site on the Internet.
The site was offline, but users' personal data was secured, according to a ministry representative reported by Russia's state news agency RIA late on Sunday.
Other media outlets had reported that hackers were demanding a ransom to avoid the public revelation of users' data, according to the RIA. Reuters was unable to determine which news organizations were mentioned by the RIA.
Since Russia's armed forces entered Ukraine on Feb. 24, many Russian state-owned firms and journalistic organizations have been subjected to irregular hacking attempts.
Russian government agencies and state-owned enterprises have been targeted as a result of events in Ukraine, with the Kremlin's website, flagship airline Aeroflot, and major lender Sberbank among those experiencing outages or temporary access restrictions.
Hacking assaults in early May knocked the video-hosting site RuTube offline for three days and disrupted satellite television menus in Moscow on Triumph Day, the 77th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany.
Separately, Ukraine's UNIAN news agency reported on Sunday that OLL.TV's online broadcast of the Ukraine-Wales soccer match had been temporarily hacked.
As Russia grows increasingly isolated from global financial institutions and supply networks, the Kremlin has suggested a slew of measures to support, among other things, the IT sector.
The digital ministry has previously advised that Russian IT companies discuss a phased transfer of technical support components with foreign corporations, and technology firms will have access to favourable tax and lending circumstances.
Interfax reported late Wednesday, citing draft government documents, that the digital ministry had proposed allocating 14 billion roubles (approximately €120 million) in subsidies to IT companies.
Moscow claims to be conducting a "special military operation" to disarm Ukraine and keep fascists at bay. Russia's assertions are dismissed by Ukraine and Western countries as a justification to invade.
Even before the last Russian incursion, the Ukrainian government began recruiting local tech workers for its so-called "cyber forces" unit.
According to Serhii Demediuk, a prominent Ukrainian cybersecurity officer, the major goal was to track and counter cyberattacks.
Instead of properly qualified cybersecurity personnel, Ukraine has turned to volunteers with various degrees of IT expertise organized in official and unauthorized groups that can be difficult to track - often "hacking back."
