HACKERS VS RUSSIA

Anonymous claims responsibility for Russian government website outages


TSAR PUTIN

Igor Bonifacic
·Contributing Writer
Sat, February 26, 2022, 12:00 PM·2 min read

On Saturday morning, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine entered its third day, some of the country’s official government websites went down following a series of alleged cyberattacks. Among the sites that aren’t accessible as of the writing of this article include that of the Kremlin and the country’s Ministry of Defence. Several Twitter accounts claiming affiliation with Anonymous say the international hacking collective is behind the attacks.

“Faced with this series of attacks that Ukraine has been suffering from the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, we could not help but support the Ukrainian people,” said one account. At the start of the conflict, the group said it would launch a “cyber war against the Russian government.” However, the Kremlin has denied Anonymous is behind the attacks, according to CNN.

It’s believed Anonymous is also responsible for hacking several Russian state TV channels. People have uploaded videos showing those channels playing Ukrainian music and displaying images of the country’s flag and other nationalistic symbols.



The collective has also pledged to “keep the Ukrainian people online as best we can,” even as the invasion takes a heavy toll on the country's internet infrastructure. While there hasn’t been a widespread blackout, some parts of Ukraine, particularly those areas where fighting has been the most intense, have seen greatly diminished access. That's something that has prevented people from staying in touch with their loved ones.

Kremlin website goes down as Russian TV channels ‘hacked to play Ukrainian songs’

Graeme Massie
Sat, February 26, 2022

The Kremlin’s website went down and Russian TV channels were “hacked to play Ukrainian songs” following a string of reported cyberattacks as Vladimir Putin’s attack on the country continued.

Ukraine’s state telecommunications agency announced on Saturday that six Russian government websites, including the Kremlin’s, were down, according to The Kyiv Independent.

The agency also stated that the Russian media regulator’s website had gone down, and that hackers had got Russian TV channels to play the Ukrainian music.

Hacking collective Anonymous took to Twitter on Saturday morning and said that it was “at war with Russia. Stay tuned.”

The latest move comes after the collective’s Twitter account declared on Thursday that the group was “currently involved in operations against the Russian Federation.”

“We want the Russian people to understand that we know it’s hard for them to speak out against their dictator for fear of reprisals,” they stated.

“We, as a collective want only peace in the world. We want a future for all of humanity. So, while people around the globe smash your internet providers to bits, understand that it’s entirely directed at the actions of the Russian government and Putin.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that Ukraine’s armed forces had “derailed” Vladimir Putin’s plans to capture Kyiv.

Following intense fighting in Kyiv which saw an apartment building in the capital hit by a missile, president Zelensky remained defiant as he urged Ukrainians to defend the nation stating: “We will give you arms,” in a video address.

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“We have withstood and are successfully repelling enemy attacks. The fighting goes on,” the Ukrainian president said in an emotional speech.

The country’s state rail service also announced on Saturday that Ukrainian forces had blown up all rail lines linking the country with Russia.