{"id":3211,"date":"2022-03-20T01:09:11","date_gmt":"2022-03-20T01:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worabia.com\/news\/top-trends\/3211\/"},"modified":"2022-03-20T01:09:11","modified_gmt":"2022-03-20T01:09:11","slug":"anonymous-how-hackers-are-trying-to-undermine-putin-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worabia.com\/news\/top-trends\/3211\/","title":{"rendered":"Anonymous: How hackers are trying to undermine Putin"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The hacktivist collective Anonymous has been bombarding Russia with cyber attacks since it declared “cyber war” on President Vladimir Putin in retaliation for his invasion of Ukraine. Several people operating under his banner spoke to the BBC about his motives, tactics and plans. <\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Of all the cyberattacks carried out since the Ukraine conflict began, an Anonymous hack of Russian television networks stands out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The hack was captured in a short video clip showing normal programming interrupted by footage of bombs exploding in Ukraine and soldiers talking about the horrors of the conflict. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The video began circulating on February 26 and was shared by Anonymous’ social media accounts with millions of followers. “ONLY IN: #Russia’s state TV channels have been hacked by #Anonymous to broadcast the truth about what’s happening in #Ukraine,” a post read.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It quickly racked up millions of views.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The hack has all the hallmarks of an Anonymous hack: dramatic, impactful, and easy to share online. Like many of the group’s other cyberattacks, it was also extremely difficult to verify. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But one of the smaller groups of Anonymous hackers said they were responsible, taking over TV services for 12 minutes. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The first person to post the video was also able to verify that it was real. Eliza lives in the US, but her father is Russian and called her when her TV shows were interrupted. “My father called me when it happened and said: ‘My God, they are showing the truth!’ So I asked him to record it and I posted the clip online. He says one of his friends saw it too.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Rostelecom, the Russian company that runs the hacked services, did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The hackers justified their actions by saying that innocent Ukrainians were being massacred. “We will intensify attacks on the Kremlin, if nothing is done to restore peace in Ukraine,” they added. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Anonymous says it has also taken down Russian websites and stole government data, but Lisa Forte, a partner at cybersecurity firm Red Goat, says most of these attacks so far have been “pretty basic.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hackers have primarily been using DDoS attacks, where a server is overwhelmed by a flood of requests, he said. These are relatively simple to carry out and only take websites temporarily offline. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“But the TV gimmick is incredibly creative,” he said, “and I think it’s pretty hard to pull off.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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  • The hacktivist collective first emerged in 2003 from the 4chan website.<\/li>\n
  • The group has no leadership, its motto is “We are legion”<\/li>\n
  • Anyone can claim to be part of the group and hack for whatever cause they want, but they generally target organizations accused of abusing power.<\/li>\n
  • His symbol is a Guy Fawkes mask, made famous by Alan Moore’s graphic novel V for Vendetta, in which an anarchist revolutionary overthrows a corrupt fascist government.<\/li>\n
  • The group has many social media accounts, with 15.5 million followers on their Twitter pages alone.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    Anonymous hackers have also defaced Russian websites. Forte says this involves gaining control of a website to change the content that is displayed. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    So far, the attacks have caused disruption and embarrassment, but cyber experts are increasingly concerned about the explosion in hacktivism since the invasion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    They worry that a hacker could accidentally crash a hospital’s computer network or disrupt critical communication links.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    “I’ve never seen anything like it,” says Emily Taylor of the Cyber \u200b\u200bPolice Journal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    “These attacks carry risks. [They] It could lead to an escalation, or someone could accidentally cause real damage to a critical part of civilian life.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Anonymous hasn’t been this active in years. Roman, a Ukrainian tech entrepreneur who heads a hacking group called Stand for Ukraine, had no ties to the organization until Russia invaded his country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    But he told me that when he and his team briefly defaced the website of the Russian state news agency, Tass, with an anti-Putin banner, they included an Anonymous logo.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Roman works from his sixth-floor apartment in kyiv, coordinating his team as they build websites, Android apps, and Telegram bots to aid the Ukraine war effort and hack into Russian targets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    “I’m ready to go and pick up a rifle for Ukraine, but right now my skills are best used on the computer. So I’m here at home with my two laptops, coordinating this IT resistance.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    He says his group took a Russian regional train ticket service offline for several hours, although the BBC has not been able to verify this.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    He defends his actions saying, “These things are illegal and wrong until there is a threat to you or your family member.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Another group that has merged with Anonymous is a Polish hacking outfit called Squad 303, named after a famous Polish WWII fighter squad.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    “We work together with Anonymous all the time and now I consider myself a member of the Anonymous movement,” says one of the group, who uses the name of World War II pilot Jan Zumbach as his nickname.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    He did not want his photograph to be published, but another member of his team, a Ukrainian, sent a photo of himself with a helmet and mask. He described his situation as “on the barricade with a rifle during the day and hacking with the Squad\/Anonymous at night.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Squad 303 has created a website that allows members of the public to send text messages to random Russian phone numbers, telling them the truth about the war. They claim to have facilitated more than 20 million SMS and WhatsApp messages.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Two anonymous groups I spoke to cited this as the most impactful thing the collective has done for Ukraine so far.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    When asked how he justified the illegal activity of the Squad, Jan Zumbach said that they did not steal or share private information and that they were only trying to talk to the Russians, with the aim of winning the information war.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    However, he also said that they were planning a more shocking stunt in the coming days.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Self-defense groups in Russia are also carrying out attacks against Ukraine, but apparently on a smaller scale.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    There have been three major waves of coordinated DDoS attacks against Ukraine since January, in addition to three incidents of more serious “wiper” attacks that wiped data on a small number of Ukrainian computer systems.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    • Ukraine says it is waging the first ‘hybrid war’<\/li>\n
    • Russia’s vigilante hackers join attack on Ukraine<\/li>\n
    • Cyber \u200b\u200battacks increase against Ukrainian websites <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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      A doctored video of President Zelensky appeared on the website of Ukraine 24 television channel on Wednesday after an apparent attack.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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      However, in today’s environment, it is difficult to know exactly who is behind a cyber attack. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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      “The Achilles’ heel of Anonymous is that anyone can claim to be Anonymous, including state actors operating against what we fight for,” says former Anonymous hacker Anon2World.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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      “With our current rise in popularity, it’s (almost) a given that there will be obvious repercussions from a government entity. As far as adding to the chaos, we’re used to chaos, especially online.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n