Following the launch of Russia’s “special military operation” against Ukraine, which turned out to be an all-out war, NATO, the EU, and other countries decided to take a different approach and impose sanctions against Russia’s leaders and its economy instead of getting directly involved in the conflict.
But it’s not just governments that have moved in this direction, as many companies have followed suit by cutting services to customers based in Russia.
They received some perhaps unexpected support in the face of the popular hacker group – Anonymous.
Bitcoin for a Tank?
Founded in 2003, Anonymous describes itself as an “international decentralized collective and movement of activists and hacktivists”, best known for its cyberattacks against several governments, institutions and agencies.
Shortly after the war began, the group breached over 300 Russian targets and collected about RUB 1 billion.
Anonymous’ subsequent act was a bit more compelling and unorthodox. Reports emerged claiming that the group offered Russian soldiers $52,000 worth of bitcoin for every tank they surrendered.
If someone wanted to change their battle machines for BTC, they would have to wave a white flag and use the password “million”.
“Russian soldiers, everyone who wants to live with their families, children, and not die, the Anonymous global community has collected RUB 1,225,041 in bitcoin to help you.” – read the group’s message.
The Breach of the Television Network
Speaking to the BBC, anonymous members of Anonymous described some of the most significant achievements in their personal war against the Russian military operation and the person behind it – President Vladimir Putin.
One such case stands out, which transpired on February 26. Anonymous breached a local TV network, cut off regular programming, and inserted images of bombs exploding in Ukraine combined with soldiers talking about the horrors they are witnessing.
This was particularly powerful since Russia is notorious for spreading misinformation about the ongoing war and its reasons for starting it. Numerous reports indicate that a large part of Russian citizens have no idea what is happening in Ukraine and why.
“We will intensify the attacks on Kremlin if nothing is done to restore the peace in Ukraine,” said some members of the hacker group.
Ukrainian hackers join
The BBC report described another story in which a Ukrainian hacker – using the pseudonym Roman – teamed up with Anonymous to launch attacks against Russian entities, including the state-run Tass news agency. They placed an anti-Putin poster there and included the Anonymous logo.
“I am ready to go and pick up a rifle for Ukraine, but at the moment, my skills are better used at the computer. So I’m here in my home with my two laptops, co-ordinating this IT resistance.” – commented Roman, who works on creating websites, applications, and Telegram bots to help his country.
Anonymous also had the support of a Polish hacking team called Squad 303 – named after a famous Polish WWII fighter squadron.
“We work together with Anonymous all the time, and I now consider myself a member of the Anonymous movement,” – said one Squad 303 group member.
They created a website allowing people to text random Russian phone numbers to highlight the truth about the invasion. Their combined efforts have facilitated more than 20 million SMS and WhatsApp messages so far, the group claimed.
