Holding fast to their assertions, Silverberg told the jury that it will be “pretty easy” to tell from evidence at trial that Russia’s military was behind the attack, even though the country doesn’t typically raise its hand to take credit for that kind of action.”
Silverberg claimed that “The evidence will show that Mondelez was not specifically targeted because someone hated Oreo cookies … or Trident gum.” He said, “Mondelez just happened to be one of the many companies paying taxes to [Ukraine], and that’s why it was damaged.”
The NotPetya cyberattack was unleashed through a software update on a Ukrainian taxpaying platform, similar to “TurboTax for businesses.”
In a 2018 White House statement issued at the time, the United States and some of its allies blamed the Russian military for the NotPetya attack, claiming that it was intended to target Ukraine’s financial, energy, and government institutions, but quickly spread to business and other entities across the world.
However, in February 2018, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the allegations “unsubstantiated and groundless,” and claimed the charges were part of a “Russophobic campaign that is not based on any evidence.”
