Ukraine’s military suffered a heavy blow in their struggle to defend Mariupol from Russian forces, who are trying to wipe the city “off the face of the Earth.”
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, disclosed a slew of questionable cyber methods that it claims Russian and Belarusian-linked organizations are using against Ukrainian military and civilians on Thursday.
According to Meta, the organizations’ methods include acting as journalists and independent news sources online to promote Russian talking points, trying to hack hundreds of Ukrainian troops’ Facebook accounts, and executing coordinated operations to erase postings by Russian opponents from social media.
According to the corporation, a hacker gang known as “Ghostwriter” tried to get into the Facebook accounts of hundreds of Ukrainian military members, which cyber specialists suspect is tied to Belarus.
The hackers were effective in their mission “”They uploaded videos calling for the Army to surrender as though these messages were coming from the actual account owners in a couple of instances,” Meta stated. We made it impossible for these films to be disseminated.”
Meta also noted that actions by groups linked to the Russian and Belarusian governments appeared to intensify shortly before the invasion, noting that accounts linked to the Belarusian KGB “suddenly began posting in Polish and English about Ukrainian troops surrendering without a fight and the nation’s leaders fleeing the country on February 24, the day Russia began the war,” and that “accounts linked to the Belarusian KGB “suddenly began posting in Polish and English about Ukrainian troops surrendering without
Meta also noted that actions by groups linked to the Russian and Belarusian governments appeared to intensify shortly before the invasion, noting that accounts linked to the Belarusian KGB “suddenly began posting in Polish and English about Ukrainian troops surrendering without a fight and the nation’s leaders fleeing the country on February 24, the day Russia began the war,” and that “accounts linked to the Belarusian KGB “suddenly began posting in Polish and English about Ukrainian troops surrendering without
According to Vadym Hudyma, co-founder of Digital Security Lab Ukraine, an organization that helps journalists and activists secure their online accounts, Russia’s invasion resulted in a “huge surge in attacks against social media accounts via mass reporting.”
According to Vadym Hudyma, co-founder of Digital Security Lab Ukraine, an organization that helps journalists and activists secure their online accounts, Russia’s invasion resulted in a “huge surge in attacks against social media accounts via mass reporting.”
Fake profile photographs are still being used in misinformation tactics, according to Meta.
Meta previously said in February that it had found and shut down a covert Russian influence campaign targeting Ukrainians that used accounts impersonating as persons in Kyiv, including news editors.
“They posed as news editors, a retired aviation engineer, and an author of a professional journal on hydrography – the study of charting water,” Meta said in a blog post.
The bogus accounts were linked to persons who had previously been sanctioned by the US government. According to statistics analyzed by CNN, the accounts and websites maintained by this influence campaign do not seem to have been highly effective in reaching a large number of individuals.
