Radio and television audiences in several regions of Russia were surprised on June 5 to hear the familiar voice of President Vladimir Putin to announce a major “invasion” of Ukrainian forces on Russian territory, the imposition of martial law and full military mobilization.
Officials and state-controlled media quickly scrambled to denounce the show as fake, likely created using artificial intelligence or AI. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov felt compelled to do so take position deny the announcement.
It remains unclear who was responsible for the hack.
Along with drone attacks who have sometimes achieved deep inside Russia And paramilitary raids targeted settlements nearby Border With Ukraine, such hacks by Russian media are bringing the once-distant war closer to ordinary Russians.
“Hacking radio stations is another way to get information, another way to show that not only the lives of Ukrainians, but also of Russians can be divided into pre- and post-invasion lives,” he said, a member of the anti-war committee to speak of Kuban, a regional underground anti-war group in southern Russia, which fears reprisals on condition of anonymity. “Hackers like this, like the drone attacks, make people realize there’s a war going on.”
air raid
On June 12, the country’s national holiday, Russia Day, radio stations in the Stavropol And Krasnodar Regions south-east of Ukraine broadcast airstrike sirens and warnings to take cover in the face of an imminent missile attack.
According to social media reports, the false alarm could be heard on stations as far from the front lines as Ufa and Kazan – cities hundreds of kilometers from Ukraine – as well as in the Moscow region. The Telegram channel mash reported that hackers managed to break into the central server of a radio station broadcasting by satellite across the country.
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Such hijackings of terrestrial and internet transmissions have become increasingly common in recent months, targeting particularly the southern and western regions of Russia, which are closest to but also further away from the border with Ukraine.
“Such interference of enemies in the broadcasts of radio stations happened in the Stavropol and Belgorod regions,” according to the authorities in the Krasnodar region Posted on Telegram on February 22 – on the Defender of the Fatherland holiday, honoring soldiers and veterans, and two days before the first anniversary of Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine. “Normal broadcasting has been restored. All information and materials needed to investigate the incident have been made available to law enforcement.”
Focus on Crimea
Other chop On June 12, the “Russia” holiday, was carried out by the “Free Russia” Legion, a paramilitary group that conducted raids on Russian territory from eastern Ukraine. The embassy urged residents of the Russian-occupied Crimean region of Ukraine to inform the Ukrainian military about the movement of Russian troops “to expedite the restoration of peace and lawful order in Crimea.” The statement also compared the actions of the Russian military to “the best traditions of the Third Reich.”
The statement was also circulated on the websites of state-run Kuban 24 TV channel. The government of the north-western region of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea, too reported that the announcement could be heard on the frequency of the commercial Russian radio station Europa Plus.
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Earlier this month, the Russian Volunteer Corps, a far-right paramilitary group of ethnic Russians also fighting Russia, conducted a similar hack, threatening to attack Russian-held Crimea and “cleanse the peninsula.” This attack reached the Black Sea resort of Sochi and other places in southern Russia, among others.
The methods used to carry out such hacks vary depending on the equipment used by the broadcaster, said an expert from the non-governmental organization Roskomsvoboda, which monitors the internet, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.
“If the radio station has the most basic equipment without unnecessary computerization, it can only be hacked through physical infiltration, either at the site where the broadcasting equipment is located or at the studio that generates the signal,” the expert told RFE/RL .
However, most modern broadcasters are connected to the Internet, which gives hackers plenty of opportunities to break in, he said, adding that it’s possible to hijack a station’s frequency directly if you have “enough powerful equipment and a big enough antenna.” need.
Another IT specialist, who also declined to be named, said broadcasters’ networks could be attacked remotely.
“Once access is gained, files can be modified and alternative audio programs enabled,” the person said, adding that the most common way to gain such access is through phishing attacks.
Unexpected effects?
Hacks can have a range of effects on listeners, from anger and fear to fear and confusion, activists say.
“The effectiveness of such hacks depends on what’s being broadcast,” said Bogdan Litvin, the national coordinator of Russia’s anti-war movement Vesna, which like many opposition groups has been labeled extremist by Putin’s government. “The noise of sirens and explosions and warnings of missile attacks will not increase opposition to the war. Most likely, they will add to the feeling of fear, which will not do anything to change public opinion.”
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“The idea of hacking Russian radio stations is not a bad one,” Litvin said. “But the way it’s being done now could have undesirable effects, such as short-term consolidation around authorities … and support for repressive measures.”
Litvin said it might be more productive to persuade Russians that the war is against their interests and that they have to pay “with their money, their future, and — for many of them — the lives of their sons, husbands, and fathers.”
Written by Robert Coalson of RFE/RL, based on the reporting of correspondent Andrei Krasno of Caucasus.Realities of RFE/RL