Bermuda Post

Saturday, Nov 09, 2024

Leak of secret documents reveals Putin's global and domestic cyberwar tactics

Leak of secret documents reveals Putin's global and domestic cyberwar tactics

Vladimir Putin’s global cyberwar strategy against the West has been exposed after a huge trove of secret documents have been leaked.

The ‘Vulkan Files‘, published on Thursday (30 March), reveal how a shadowy Russian cybersecurity company named RTV Vulkan has secretly been waging digital warfare on the Kremlin’s behalf.

The documents were reportedly leaked to German media by a whistleblower who opposed the war in Ukraine on 24 February 2022, and have been analysed by a consortium of over 50 journalists from eight countries.

Included in the leak is evidence of tools used to influence social media discussion, manipulate public opinion, interfere in elections, and attack national infrastructure.

The files reveal how a Russian cybersecurity company waged digital warfare around the world on the Kremlin’s behalf


Also revealed is the agency’s links to the notorious hacking organisation Sandworm, who disabled Ukraine’s power grid in 2015 and played a key role in Russia’s brazen attempts to derail the US presidential election the following year.

Two of the group’s operatives were indicted for distributing emails stolen from Hillary Clinton’s Democrats in 2016, and in 2017 Sandworm attempted use the same tactics to influence the outcome of the French presidential vote, the US claims.

Sandworm has also been credited with distributing the most destructive malware ever recorded, known as NotPetya, and targeting the South Korean Oympics.

Codenamed Scan-V, NotPetya scours the internet for vulnerabilities, which are then stored for use in future cyber-attacks.

Another powerful disinformation tool, known as Amezit, was also found to be in use by the group.

Amezit is used to create fake profiles en masse which are then used to disseminate pro-Kremlin content on a large scale via email, SMS, and social media.

Public opinion can be influenced by pushing individual hashtags in a targeted manner, and bot databases provide the basis for these operations.

These tools were used to influence foreign affairs, and to exert even greater control over parts of the internet in Russia’s sphere of influence.

The firm had previously waged attacks on Ukraine’s power grid and had obtained maps of US and Swiss energy infrastructure


It has been reported that one of the leaked documents includes maps of US energy infrastructure. Another contains the details of a nuclear power station in Switzerland.

John Hultquist, the vice-president of intelligence analysis at the cybersecurity firm Mandiant, said: ‘These documents suggest that Russia sees attacks on civilian critical infrastructure and social media manipulation as one and the same mission, which is essentially an attack on the enemy’s will to fight.’

The firm counts a wide variety of Russian security services as its clients, including the FSB, the foreign intelligence service, SVR, and the military intelligence service GRU, the Guardian reports.

RTV Vulkan used some of the world’s most notorious malware to wage war on the West


The whistleblower who leaked the explosive documents told a German newspaper that the FSB and GRU ‘hide behind’ Vulkan in the days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year to avoid culpability.

The anonymous source said: ‘People should know the dangers of this.

‘Because of the events in Ukraine, I decided to make this information public.

‘The company is doing bad things and the Russian government is cowardly and wrong.

‘I am angry about the invasion of Ukraine and the terrible things that are happening there.

‘I hope you can use this information to show what is happening behind closed doors.’

The authenticity of the documents has been confirmed by five separate intelligence agencies.

The firm had previously worked with the same group of hackers responsible for leaking Hillry Clinton’s emails during the 2016 US Presidential Election


Following the leak, the ‘Vulkan Files’ international research team identified several hundred accounts on Twitter that could be directly or indirectly linked to the documents.

To hide their Russian origins, profiles created by the group created email accounts at Gmail, Yahoo, and Hotmail, and paid for transactions with cryptocurrency or prepaid credit cards.

However, despite their careful manoeuvring Russia’s attempts to control the online sphere have faltered since the start of their invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier this year, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova confirmed that the Kremlin has ceded centralized control over the Russian information space and that Russian President Vladimir Putin apparently cannot readily fix it.

This is due to the emergence of grassroots anti-disinformation groups who have taken an active role in identifying and countering Russian propaganda online.

In their brief exchange with a German journalist, the leaker said they were aware that giving sensitive information to foreign media was dangerous.

But they had taken life-changing precautions. They had left their previous life behind, they said, and now existed ‘as a ghost’.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Bermuda Post
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
'I just lost it' Lowe’s worker fired after 13 years of employment for confronting thieves trying to steal $2K of merchandise
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
×