Anonymous cyberwar against Vladimir Putin
Hacking group Anonymous has declared a ‘cyber war’ against Vladimir Putin‘s government after he mounted a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The elusive computer experts issued the stark announcement on their Twitter account on Thursday evening.
They said shortly before 10 pm: ‘The Anonymous collective is officially in cyberwar against the Russian government.’
Around 30 minutes later, they announced that they had taken down the website of the Kremlin-backed TV channel RT, which broadcasts in Britain and has been heavily criticized for its coverage.
When MailOnline attempted to access the site this morning, it was still inaccessible and only displayed an error message that said ‘this site can’t be reached.
The cyberwar declaration raises the prospect that Russia could be subjected to systematic hacking attempts in the coming days.
Prior to the invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, the country’s government and banks were targeted by a massive cyberattack that was believed to have been carried out by Russia.
People on social media responded positively to Anonymous’s cyberwar declaration against Putin.
One person wrote: ‘THANK YOU! Now, work on draining their finances.’
Another said: ‘You are awesome, thanks.’
A third wrote: ‘THANK YOU! I love you! The most beautiful thing EVER…’
Anonymous said in their tweet about RT: ‘The #Anonymous collective has taken down the website of the #Russian propaganda station RT News.’
THE ELUSIVE HACKING GROUP ANONYMOUS
Hacker group Anonymous has been linked to online attacks around the world aimed at punishing governments for policies of which the hackers disapprove.
Members are known as ‘Anons’ and are distinguished by their Guy Fawkes masks.
The group is seen as anything from digital Robin Hoods to cyber terrorists for their hacking campaigns against government agencies, child pornography sites, and the Klu Klux Klan.
In 2008 the online community staged a series of protests, pranks, and hacks Church of Scientology as part of its ‘Project Chanology.’
Later targets of Anonymous ‘hacktivism’ included government agencies of the US, Israel, Tunisia, Uganda, and others, copyright protection agencies; the Westboro Baptist Church; and corporations such as PayPal, MasterCard, Visa, and Sony.
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In 2013 they declared war on secretive ‘chat sites’ used by pedophiles to trade images.
Last November they hacked into the Twitter account of the Ku Klux Klan after the white supremacist group distributed flyers threatening ‘lethal force’ protesters in Ferguson.
Dozens of people have been arrested for involvement in Anonymous cyberattacks, in countries including the US, UK, Australia, the Netherlands, Spain, and Turkey.
Anonymous cyberwar against Vladimir Putin
