Ukraine Creates IT Army of Volunteer Hackers and Orders Cyber Attacks on Russian Websites

When Gizmodo viewed the Telegram group on Sunday, it had more than 194,000 subscribers. The first task encouraged members to “use any vectors of cyber and DDoS attacks” on the websites of 31 Russian business corporations, banks, and government entities.

Targets included natural gas heavyweight Gazprom, oil and gas company Lukoil, and internet company Yandex, among many others. In the financial sector, the IT Army singled out Sberbank, VTB, and Gazprombank, some of the country’s top banks. Russian government entities on the list included the Kremlin and the Ministry of Defense.

For those who are not technically advanced enough to launch cyber and DDoS attacks, the IT Army had a different task: report Russian YouTube channels that spread misinformation about the war in Ukraine. Channels highlighted by the Telegram group included state-owned media outlets Russia 24, TASS, and RIA Novosti.

It’s not clear whether the group has successfully taken down any Russian websites or YouTube channels, although there have been disruptions. Overall, Russia isn’t having an easy time in the tech world, which is increasingly taking measures to support Ukraine. Following a move by Meta, formerly known as Facebook, Google on Saturday banned Russian state media from monetizing their websites, apps, or YouTube videos.

In addition, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk responded to a request from Fedorov, Ukraine’s vice prime minister, on Saturday asking him to provide the country with Starlink stations.

“Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route,” Musk tweeted.