The international hacker collective Anonymous claims to have breached more than 300 Russian websites in just two days and is now reportedly offering to buy Russian tanks from their crews.
The international hacking collective declared war on Putin’s military machine in response to a call to arms from the Ukrainian government.
Numerous accounts linked to the loose and highly decentralized collective published messages, images and videos calling on hackers of the world to unite against Russia after “dictator” Putin invaded his neighboring country last week.
Messages said to be from members of Anonymous and videos are being shared on social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook and Reddit with the hashtags #OpRussia, #StopRussia, #OpKremlin and #FreeUkraine, among others, calling on the world’s hackers to target Russian websites.
Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov announced the creation of a Telegram channel for the IT army of Ukraine on Saturday.
“We are creating an IT army. We need digital talents. … There will be tasks for everyone. We continue to fight on the cyber front,” he said.
“In 2022 modern technologies are one of the best responses to tanks, rockets and missiles,” Fedorov said. “I’ve addressed to the biggest tech giants to support the sanctions for Russian Federation. We asked them to help us stop this outrageous aggression on our people!”
The Anonymous hacking collective, which first made headlines during the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in 2011, has reportedly been multiplying attacks on Russian targets, including allegedly hacking into Russian TV so that all channels played Ukrainian folk songs, as seen in media footage.
Anonymous has also claimed to have taken down state-owned media outlet RT (Russia Today), which is banned in the European Union along with state-funded news outlet Sputnik.
“We will ban the Kremlin’s media machine in the EU. The state-owned Russia Today and Sputnik and their subsidiaries will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war,” President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said.
Anonymous also reportedly leaked a database obtained from the Sberbank of Russia. And it said it had taken down the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection’s website, as well as the government website of the Chechen Republic, whose leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, is friendly with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Anonymous members have claimed to have successfully breached the Russian Ministry of Defense, allegedly posting a massive database online that includes emails, passwords and telephone numbers.
After that, Ukrainians allegedly began to call the employees of the Russian ministry asking whether the aggressor country was planning on taking the bodies of dead Russian soldiers home at any point.
“Hackers all around the world: target Russia in the name of #anonymous let them know we do not forgive, we do not forget. Anonymous owns fascists, always,” it said on social media.
None of the social media posts included in this news item have been independently verified.
Edited by Richard Pretorius and Kristen Butler
