Kremlin CCTV systems were hacked

Black Rabbit World, a hacker allegedly linked to Anonymous, claims to have accessed the Russian government’s video surveillance systems. On his Twitter account, the alleged hacktivist posted a video showing what appear to be the Kremlin facilities: “They won’t be able to stop us,” the hacker added.

The hacker did not add more information about this attack, its methods and objectives, cybersecurity specialists believe it is likely that this incident is part of the campaign that the hacktivism group has deployed against public and private institutions, in a clear protest against the military invasion in Ukraine.

Although it may sound surprising, this is not the first time Anonymous has claimed responsibility for an attack on the Kremlin’s computer systems. A few weeks ago, the hacker collective began a campaign of cyberattacks against the Russian government, which would have begun on the same day that the invasion ordered by Vladimir Putin began.

In addition to Anonymous, other hacktivist groups have waged cyberwar campaigns against the military occupation in Ukraine. One of these campaigns was deployed by a group identified as Cyber Partisans, which managed to infect with ransomware the systems that control the railway network in Belarus; since this is a territory allied to Putin, the Russian military planned to advance through this system, a plan that was interrupted after the cyberattack.

The incident has not stopped the Belarusian government from ceasing to collaborate with Russia and neither are Anonymous’ activities likely to do so. Still, specialists consider this to be the perfect example of how hacking has gained importance in modern warfare, in which battles no longer only involve tanks, weaponry and soldiers.

Another important element in the picture is information warfare. It is well known that Russia has at all times avoided using the term “war”, referring to the invasion as a “special military operation”, in addition to the fact that it has decided to restrict information contrary to the Kremlin’s version with the enactment of a new media law.

Faced with this scenario, Anonymous has proclaimed itself in favor of disseminating among Russian citizens information not approved by the Kremlin, even developing tools for sending text messages to random telephone numbers in Russia.

To learn more about information security risks, malware variants, vulnerabilities and information technologies, feel free to access the International Institute of Cyber Security (IICS) websites.