In a message posted on social media on Sunday, March 6, the hacker collective Anonymous claimed to have hacked several Russian streaming and television channels showing footage of the war in Ukraine.
A cyber attack would last only a few minutes, but it would be quite real. According to statement posted on Twitteron an account linked to the Anonymous collective, which is followed by more than 300,000 people, the group members announced that they “hacked the Russian streaming services Wink and Ivi, as well as the live channels Russia 24, Chanel One and Moscow 24 to broadcast footage of the war in Ukraine “.
JUST IN: a collective of hackers #Anonymous Russian streaming services Wink and Ivi (for example, Netflix) and TV channels Rossiya 24, Channel One, Moscow 24 were hacked today to broadcast military footage from #Ukraine. #tangodown #OpRussia pic.twitter.com/2V8opv7Dg9
— Anonymous TV (@YourAnonTV) March 6, 2022
Several other Anonymous-linked accounts later claimed responsibility for the cyberattack or shared the original post, saying it was the first part of a large-scale operation, “the biggest Anonymous has ever done.” This was quickly reported by the Ukrainian national news agency Ukrinform. Then, several videos were published as evidence, but the fact of the attack has not yet been confirmed, except by Russian-speaking BBC journalists who communicate through encrypted messages with foreign media.
However, the media showed great caution in reporting this attack, as the Kremlin would not authorize the Russian media to confirm or even just mention such a hack. What’s more, verification of information in Russia has become very difficult since the passage of a law punishing 15 years in prison for any publication spreading “fake news” about the conflict.
Cyberwar against the Kremlin
On February 24, the start date of the invasion, Anonymous officially declared themselves in “cyber warfare” against Russia. Thus, the team announced several attacks on Russian facilities. Within minutes, the websites of the state news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti, the Kommersant newspaper, the pro-Kremlin daily Izvestia, and Forbes Russia magazine posted a message calling for an “end” to the invasion of Ukraine.
In this way, Anonymous is trying to disrupt the functioning of institutions, destabilize the regime of Vladimir Putin, publish confidential data and information, but above all, ensure that the citizens of Russia know about the war and how it was fought, despite huge disinformation. Kremlin campaign.