Hacktivist group Anonymous is using six top techniques to ‘embarrass’ Russia

Members of the loosely connected collective known as Anonymous are known for wearing Guy Fawkes masks in public.

The ongoing efforts by the underground hacktivists are embarrassing to Russia.

Since the hacker collective declared a cyber war on Russia, the co- founder of Security Discovery has been keeping an eye on them.

He told CNBC thatAnonymous has made Russia's cyber defense weak. Russian companies, government agencies, energy companies and others have been embarrassed by the group.

With the scale of these attacks by a hacker army online, it appears more to be a paper curtain.

CNBC asked the Russian embassies in Singapore and London if they had something to say.

Fowler summarized many of the collectives claims against Russia in a report published Friday.

Fowler helped rank the claims in order of effectiveness.

1.      Hacking into databases

There are claims.

• Posting leaked information about Russian military members, the Central Bank of Russia, the space agency Roscosmos, oil and gas companies (Gazregion, Gazprom, Technotec), the property management company Sawatzky, the broadcaster VGTRK, the IT company NPO VS, law firms and more
• Defacing and deleting hacked files

Fowler said that Anonymous claimed to have hacked over 2,500 sites. He said it will take years to review the amount of data that was leaked.

Fowler said that the biggest development would be the huge amount of records taken.

The amount of deleted information is harder to ascertain, said Jeremiah Fowler. “We may never know the true number of records wiped out or destroyed.”

Shmuel Gihon is a researcher at the threat intelligence company Cyberint.

He said that they don't know what to do with all the information they've got.

2.      Targeting companies that continue to do business in Russia

There are claims.

In late March, an account named YourAnonTV began posting logos of companies that were supposedly still doing business in Russia, with one post issuing an ultimatum to pull out of Russia in 48 hours if they didn't.

The hacktivists are increasing the financial stakes of their operations in Russia.

Fowler said that companies risk more than the loss of sales and some negative PR if they go after their data.

3.      Blocking websites

There are claims.

A distributed denial of service attack is when a website is flooded with enough traffic to knock it offline. geolocation blocking is a way of defending against them. Fowler said that the defense mechanisms were allegedly circumvented by hacking into Russian server.

He said that the owners of the hacked server don't know their resources are being used to launch attacks.

Fowler said that the attacks are more than small annoyances.

He said that during the attack, operations and productivity come to a complete stop. Government and the general public rely on services that are not always available.

4.      Training new recruits

There are claims.

• Training people how to launch DDoS attacks and mask their identities
• Providing cybersecurity assistance to Ukraine

Training new recruits allowed Anonymous to grow.

He said that people didn't know how to be involved. Low-level actors were trained by Anonymous to perform basic tasks.

This allowed skilled hackers to launch more advanced attacks, like the one claimed this month by the hacking group affiliated with Anonymous, which took control of the domain, email server and workstations of a manufacturing plant in Russia.

CNBC requested comment from LMZ, but they didn't reply immediately.

Fowler said that the pros get the World Cup and the amateurs get the smaller fields.

5.      Hijacking media and streaming services  

There are claims.

• Showing censored images and messages on television broadcasts, such as Russia-24, Channel One, Moscow 24, Wink and Ivi
• Heightened attacks on national holidays, including hacking into Russian video platform RuTube and smart TV channel listings on Russia’s “Victory Day” (May 9) and Russia’s real estate federal agency Rosreestr on Ukraine’s “Constitution Day” (June 28)

The website for Rosreestr is down, as of today’s publication date. Jeremiah Fowler said it was likely pulled offline by Russia to protect internal data after it was hacked. “Russian journalists have often used data from Rosreestr to track down officials’ luxury properties.”

Fowler said that the messages only resonance with those that want to hear them.

Some Russian citizens are already using a virtual private network to escape Russian censors, while others have been imprisoned or are leaving the country.

Professionals working in journalism, tech, legal and consulting are among the people leaving Russia.

6.      Directly reaching out to Russians

There are claims.

• Hacking into printers and altering grocery store receipts to print anti-war and pro-Ukrainian messages
• Sending millions of calls, emails and text messages to Russian citizens
• Sending messages to users on the Russian social networking site VK

Fowler said the one that sticks out the most is the one that's winding down.

According to Fowler, there is no reason to doubt the claims made by Anonymous.

Fowler said that the methods Anonymous have used against Russia have been disruptive and effective.

He said that information from the database breeches could show criminal activity and who pulls the strings.

Most of the information is in Russian. The data will likely be pored over by cyber specialists, governments, hacktivists and everyday enthusiasts.

Fowler said while Anonymous has received public support for its efforts against Russia, “law enforcement and the cyber security community have never looked fondly at hacking or hacktivism.”

Gihon thinks criminal prosecutions are unlikely.

He said that a lot of the people they have compromised are sponsored by the Russian government. I don't think they will be arrested soon.

Gihon said that leaks build on each other.

Fowler said that a network can fall like dominoes once it's been penetrated.

Gihon called it the bread and butter of the way the hackers work.

He said that this could be the beginning of massive campaigns.

Fowler and Gihon agreed that the more immediate outcome of the hacks is that Russia's cybersecurity defenses are weak. Gihon said that Russia's cyber capabilities are strong.

Gihon said that they expected more strength from the Russian government when it came to their strategic assets.

Fowler said that the veil had been pulled off Russia's cybersecurity practices.