Anonymous Targets Vladimir Putin, Claim To Have Hacked Into Kremlin's Spy Satellite
April 14 2022, Published 4:21 p.m. ET
The hacking collective organization Anonymous claims that they have successfully hacked the Kremlin's spy satellite program and say they used Russian tools to do it.
The Anonymous affiliated hacker group Network Battalion 65 (NB65) shared tweets and alleged files of server information from the Russian space agency Roscomos, claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin "no longer has control over spy satellites."
After investigating the stolen files by cybersecurity, experts suggests that NB65 were actually able to make a modified version of Conti, a form of ransomware virus used by Russian hackers to allegedly steal money from hospitals and health services across Ireland, Europe as well as the United States.
They claim that they have been able to turn the system against Russian space satellites.
Roscosmos' chief and one of Putin's closest allies Dmitry Rogozin denied the claims, calling the hacking collective "scammers" and nothing but a group of "petty swindlers."
In a response to the report, Rogozin tweeted: "All our space activity control centers are operating normally."
However, after an analysis of the leaked files by Intezer Analyze, the organization has claimed that the Anonymous hackers have used "65% of the source code" of Conti and have indeed been able to break into Roscosmos to steal files.
The attack comes as part of an intensifying campaign by Anonymous against Russia as the country's invasion of Ukraine continues to escalate in unsettling ways.
Reports have been coming out of Russian military leaders ordering for soldiers to open fire on Ukrainian citizens as well as invading troops writing notes of revenge on the sides of missiles fired at local train stations filled with refugees.
Anonymous declared a 'cyber war' with Russia in February shortly after the invasion began.
The group took credit for taking down the website of Russia Today, the country's main state broadcaster, early Thursday morning.
They've also gone on to target the websites of the Russian government, the Kremlin, and the Russian defense ministry.
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The Anonymous affiliated group NB65 released a message on the hacked Russian website which read, "We warned you that no internet-facing technology is off-limits to us. We've warned you repeatedly that until you stop we will press harder and harder until we cripple every single piece of tech, every information system, and every network we find."
