TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The decentralized international hacktivist collective Anonymous announced this week that it hacked into both the Russian central bank and a pension fund, launched a "printer attack," and is preparing to attack Russian physical infrastructure.
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, Anonymous has launched a cyber war that has consisted of hacking into Russian government and state-run media websites, industrial control systems, the Kremlin's website, and hundreds of surveillance cameras across Russia. A representative of the collective informed Taiwan News it hacked into the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation (PFR) on Tuesday (March 22).
According to the representative, Anonymous has "wiped" the database, server data, and backups for the fund in many regions of Russia. The regions affected include Moscow Oblast, Amur Oblast, Buryatia, Tuva Republic, Smolensk Oblast, Pskov Oblast, Kaliningrad Oblast, and Altai Republic.
The collective warned that the attacks on Russia will "continue as long as there are civilian casualties in Ukraine." As of publication, the PFR website is still offline.
Administrator screen for database management system. (Anonymous screenshot)
Anonymous was cited by International Business Times on Wednesday (March 23) as stating that it is preparing to launch cyber attacks on Russia's infrastructure. Anonymous warned that Russia will soon begin attacking the physical infrastructure of non-allied countries and that the collective will "prepare an offensive to damage Russian physical infrastructure" in retaliation.
On Thursday (March 24), Anonymous announced that it had hacked into the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. It stated that more than 35,000 files would be released within 48 hours containing "secret agreements."
Earlier in the week on Monday (March 21), the collective announced that it launched a "printer attack" on 156 printers in Russia. The group claimed to have printed out over 40,000 copies.
We are #Anonymous
We're currently launching a printer attack on 156 #Russian printers
Already over 40,000+ copies#OpUkraine #OpRussia pic.twitter.com/4wCbBHYg3l
— Anonymous (@DepaixPorteur) March 20, 2022
https://t.co/KifoJziZyx - tango down #OpKremlin #OpRussia
The Pension Fund of the Russian Federation got hacked
Database, server data and backups have been wiped in many regions of Russia
The attacks will continue as long as there are civilian casualties in Ukraine.
— Anonymous (@mozcowboi) March 22, 2022
JUST IN: The #Anonymous collective has hacked the Central Bank of Russia. More than 35.000 files will be released within 48 hours with secret agreements. #OpRussia pic.twitter.com/lop140ytcp
— Anonymous TV 〔錯誤字元無法儲存〕〔錯誤字元無法儲存〕 (@YourAnonTV) March 23, 2022
