Anonymous hacker group: who are they and why are they helping Ukraine

The hacker group Anonymous has declared cyber war on Russia in response to its attack on Ukraine. About who Anonymous are and what interest they have in taking the side of Ukraine, reports cybernews.

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Now they are easy to distinguish by a white mask with a smirk. Anonymous are members of a decentralized international collective of tech activists and hackers. As they argue, Anonymous is not anyone in particular and it is not everyone at the same time, and anyone can sign their hacking efforts on behalf of the coalition.

Their targets include governments, government organizations, tech giants and large enterprises. They are best known for their politically and socially motivated cyberattacks. Many consider them "digital superheroes" who serve their own justice, especially when law enforcement doesn't.

"In a new video produced by Vibes, Anonymous is the epitome of extrajudicial justice, a superhero trying to fix what the normal course of the law can't do - an idea that might seem very appealing now that the regular enforcers of justice - the police - seem to be some source of crime," writes Dale Beran for The Atlantic.

On the subject: People from different countries massively book accommodation in Kyiv through Airbnb: why do they need it when the country is at war

The group is believed to have originated in 2003 on the 4chan message board, which gave the name "Anonymous" to all users who chose not to give their logins. Users, mostly teenagers, gathered in virtual chat rooms to discuss current politics.

Minor hacks began as coordinated pranks and raids on online games and chat rooms. But by 2008, the group began to target more serious targets, such as the Church of Scientology. At the same time, their signature Guy Fawkes masks, inspired by David Lloyd in V for Vendetta, have become a symbol of Anonymous and their rebellion against abuses of power.

Coalition Against Oppression

Over time, many people have been arrested for association with Anonymous in the US, UK, India, Spain, the Netherlands, Turkey and other countries. The group came to the attention of the FBI and various governments after a series of high-profile cyberattacks.

In 2010, Anonymous targeted PayPal, Visa, Amazon, and Mastercard for stopping donations to WikiLeaks.

Later, in 2011, they successfully launched DDoS attacks on eight Tunisian government websites during the Tunisian revolution. Continuing to support the Arab Spring, they released the passwords of email addresses as well as the emails of hundreds of Middle Eastern government officials and attacked Egyptian government websites during the Egyptian Revolution.

Many attacks followed, from hacking the Syrian Defense Ministry website and placing a pro-democracy flag on it, to joining the Nigerian People's Liberation Front and the Naija cyberhacktivists.

Although not all the actions of the team always ended positively, they earned themselves a reputation as fighters for justice.

Fight for Ukraine

On February 24, the hacktivist collective announced that they were officially waging a cyberwar against the Russian government following the invasion of Ukraine.

Since then, they have made public the database of the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Economic Development, shut down many government websites, including Government.ru, hacked into Russian state TV channels and intercepted Russian military communications.

The Anonymous collective is officially in cyber war against the Russian government. #Anonymous # Ukraine

- Anonymous (@YourAnonOne) February 24, 2022

“Anonymous is conducting ongoing operations to take down government .ru websites and deliver information to Russians so they can be free from Putin’s state censorship machine. We also have ongoing operations to keep Ukrainians online as best we can,” the team shared on Twitter.

Someone hacked into Russian state TV channels. They feature Ukrainian music and national symbols. ??

Internet users suspect that this may be another action by the hacker group #Anonymous, which declared a cyber war to Russia in connection with the attack on # Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/XaoclymVTs

— BECZKA ✌️ (@beczka_tv) February 26, 2022

While most Russian organizations have remained silent on the nature of the attacks, Russia Today (RT) — a state-run TV channel that Anonymous has described as a "Russian propaganda station" — has attributed DDoS attacks to its website to the group.

“After the announcement by Anonymous, RT websites have been the target of massive DDoS attacks from approximately 100 million devices, mostly located in the United States. Due to the attacks, there may be temporary restrictions on access to sites for some users, but RT is promptly addressing these problems, ”an RT representative said in an email to Motherboard.

On the other hand, Roscosmos denied claims that a series of subversive attacks by Anonymous affiliates caused Russian officials to lose control of their "spy satellites". Initially, the NB65 hacker group claimed to have shut down the Russian Space Agency's Control Center. Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Rogozin called the information of "petty scammers" false, having previously stated that the Russian space industry is effectively protected from cyber attacks.

As the conflict continues and many Russian organizations are reluctant to disclose cyberattacks, it can be difficult to verify their source and accuracy. However, many experts suggest that this really corresponds to the previous cases and the capabilities of the team.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants, and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York.

“It can be difficult to link this activity directly to Anonymous, as the target organizations are likely to be reluctant to release related technical data. However, the Anonymous team has experience doing this kind of work and it's very much in line with their capabilities," Jamie Collier, a consultant at US cybersecurity firm Mandiant, told The Guardian.

But what's next? As hackers also join Russian forces — such as the ransomware group Conti, which has sided with Putin — it looks like we will find ourselves not only in a state-led cyber war, but also in a conflict reflecting private interests and personal values. Cyber ​​warfare is quite different from traditional warfare in that independent hacktivist groups often have as much, if not more, skills and resources to wreak havoc.

In the modern world, according to some experts, cyber-attacks are not some separate digital incidents that no longer have a physical effect, but part of a real war taking place on earth.

“We have long assumed that cyber attacks will become part of the arsenal of any state, and I think that for the first time in the history of mankind we are frankly seeing how cyber attacks have become a powerful strike weapon,” Hitesh Sheth, CEO of Vectra AI.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• On the night of February 24 began full-scale war of Russia against Ukraine.
• In the light of these events in Russia and around the world, protests against the invasion of Ukraine
• US and UK imposed broad economic sanctions against Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine.
• February 25 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to sit down at the negotiating table. Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Putin is ready to send a delegation to Minsk (Belarus) for negotiations with Kiev. He specified that the delegation will include representatives of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the presidential administration.
• In the USA there were large-scale rallies in support of Ukraine.
• Pope Francis visits the Russian Embassy February 25, to personally "express his concerns about the war" in Ukraine, which made an unprecedented deviation from diplomatic protocol.
• European Union, USA and UK imposed sanctions and froze the assets of Putin and Lavrov.
• The United States declared its readiness to start accept refugees from Ukraine.
• February 26, the world famous and one of the most popular groups of hackers Anonymous recorded a video message to Russian President Vladimir Putin. They promised to find all "skeletons in the closet" and "leave no stone unturned".
• As it became known, the Oscar-winning Hollywood actor Sean Penn is located in Ukraine and is making a documentary for Vice about events in the country.
• February 28 The world's largest aircraft An-225 was destroyed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it caused alarm and sadness among the aviation world, in which it occupies an almost cult status.
• On the same day, the United States and France called on their citizens immediately consider leaving Russia.
• From the very beginning of the invasion, many actions took place around the world in support of Ukraine. How it was in the USA, see our material.
• On March 1, the United States asked 12 Russian diplomats from the United Nations leave the US accusing them of "espionage activities" as Russia continues its advance into Ukraine.
• March 2 Russian businessman Alex Konanykhin offered a $1 million reward for dead or alive Putin.
• Airbus and Boeing refused to work with Russia, this endangers almost the entire civil aviation of the country.
• March 3 CEO and founder of the Russian TV channel "Rain" announced the suspension of the channel. This is due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• Which of the Hollywood stars supported Ukraine, and who was on the side of Russia, read here.
• What Russians living in Ukraine say about the war, you can find out in our material.
• Which companies left Russia and how it hit the economy, read on link.
• Where citizens of Ukraine can receive special services in Poland - by link.
• The US State Department has warned citizens of Ukraine that the US Mission in Ukraine does not currently offer visa services. That's it services provided in Germany.
• Meanwhile, the killers tried to kill the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky at least three times since Russia invaded his country on February 24.
• In Russia, the situation with free media is becoming more and more difficult. Even relatives from Russia of those people in Ukraine who are under shelling, they do not believe.

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