Russian television viewers tuning in for content celebrating the country's Victory Day were instead forced to reckon with their own military invasion.
The Russian smart TV schedule listings were taken over by hackers on Monday and turned into a bulletin board of anti-war public shaming. Francis Scarr gave a brief video clip that appeared to show the hacked listings.
The authorities and TV are lying. No to war.
The anti-war messages on the website of Lenta were posted by two members of the publication's staff. The slogans, which have since been deleted, reportedly included the phrases, "Vladimir Putin has turned into a pathetic dictator and paranoiac." The reporters responsible for the posts told Meduza that they had relocated outside of Russia and were worried about needing new jobs or even political asylum.
This isn't the first time that rogue hackers have tried to get into the Russian news sites. A number of attacks on Russian movement and news sites have been claimed by accounts associated with the hacktivist collective. The accounts affiliated with Anonymous were supposed to declare a cyber war against Russia. The Security Discover Co-Founder told CNBC last month that it is difficult to verify claims made by groups.
Fowler said that they know for a fact that the systems were accessed by hackers.
Russian officials claim they have experienced an unprecedented wave of attacks since the war began. According to recent Microsoft research, Ukraine may have experienced over 200 different operations conducted by at least six Russian-linked cyber threat groups.
Russian dissidents at odds with their government have gone to great lengths to voice their opposition. A prominent state media journalist interrupted a live broadcast in March with a large sign.
Russian cosmonauts boarded the International Space Station wearing uniforms matching the colors of the Ukrainian flag, a gesture many saw as a public display of support for the country.
Even though there are flickering signs of resistance, current polling shows Russians still overwhelmingly support the war. The Levada Center found that 81% of Russian respondents supported Russia's military actions.
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