Russian ‘Hacktivists’ Are Causing Trouble Far Beyond Ukraine

The Telegram channel was created at the end of February and has grown in popularity, with the number of members doubling since May. The public in Russia liked them a lot. Righi sells its own products.

The head of Norway's NSM cybersecurity agency said that while the attacks aren't sophisticated, they will still be able to cause uncertainty in the population and give the impression that we are a piece in the current political situation in Europe.

Russian military hackers have wreaked havoc in the world for years, causing power cuts in Ukraine, hacking the Olympics, and conducting the worst cyberattacks in history. Since the start of the war, there has been a lot of evidence against the Russians. A request for comment from the Russian embassy in the US was not responded to.

In April, officials in the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK warned against the damage that pro-Russian groups could cause. While it is not clear who is behind Killnet, one other notorious Russian hacktivist group has been linked to the Kremlin. At the end of June, Mandiant said that Russian intelligence operatives had given them stolen information. DTEK is the country's largest private energy firm. The group has posted about DTEK a lot.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to the emergence of a number of groups. There are questionable provenances for XakNet and Killnet. Russian intelligence agencies have an "established history of using cutout groups" for cyberactivities, and any claims of hacktivism should be approached with a healthy dose of skepticism, according to the author. The Trickbot cybercriminal group, which is made up of multiple smaller groups and has links to the Russian state, was spotted by IBM for the first time. The group's behavior was described as a huge shift by IBM.

XakNet says it isn't being directed by the Russian government. It supports the Kremlin's position and acknowledges its activities aren't legal in a Telegram post. It doesn't cooperate with Russia's FSB security service at the moment, but is happy to give data to those who ask