Happy birthday to Russian president: Russian state media hacked on Putin’s birthday
Ukraine claims to be behind a cyberattack on Russia’s state media company, just in time for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 72nd birthday.
The Russian National Radio and Television Company (VGTRK) told Russia’s new local agency Interfax that it was the victim of a cyberattack on October 7.
“On the night of October 7, VGTRK’s online services were subjected to an unprecedented hacker attack, but no significant damage was caused to the media group’s work,” the media company said, adding that there had been no impact on the broadcast and that “everything is in order”. functioning normally, there is no significant threat.”
“The holding’s specialists are working to eliminate the consequences of this malicious interference.”
While the site is now back, Reuters observed that the VGTRK website did not load on Monday and online access to the 24-hour news channel Rossiya-24 was unavailable.
“503 service unavailable. No servers are available to process this request,” the site reads, according to Reuters.
The Kremlin also announced the cyberattack, but did not specify who was behind it.
“Our state media group, one of the largest, faced an unprecedented hacker attack on its digital infrastructure,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov told media.
“Specialists are working to find out all the circumstances, to understand where the traces left by those who organized this computer attack against the critical infrastructure object lead.”
However, a Ukrainian government source said kyiv hackers were behind the attack and that it was timed to coincide with Putin’s birthday.
“Ukrainian hackers ‘congratulated’ Putin on his birthday by carrying out a large-scale attack on the All-Russian State Radio and Television Corporation,” the source said. Reuters.
Russian cybersecurity company FACCT also pointed out that information relating to the incident was posted on the official social media account of Sudo rm-RF, a pro-Ukrainian hacktivist group.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the attack fit the narrative of the West’s anti-Russian efforts and that the attack would be taken to the UN and UNESCO.
“Who is behind a specific attack will be determined by the relevant authorities and departments, but we understand that when the collective West says it aims to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, this includes an attack on the media,” said Minister Zakharova. Interfax.
“As for countermeasures, you understand perfectly well that to copy criminal activity is to engage in it yourself.
“But this issue will be raised in international forums, both at the United Nations and at UNESCO, which is literally obliged to pay attention to it… and this subject will also be raised in other international forums.”
