Two bot farms helped Russia to “disperse” Kremlin fakes and hack Ukrainian soldiers' phones: two bot farms exposed
Kyiv • UNN
The Security Service of Ukraine neutralized two bot farms in Zhytomyr and Dnipro regions that helped Russian special services hack into the phones of Ukrainian military and spread Kremlin propaganda.
The SBU neutralized two bot farms operating in Zhytomyr and Dnipro regions. The suspects helped Russian special services hack into the phones of Ukrainian defenders and spread Kremlin propaganda. This was reported by the SBU press service, UNN reports .
Details
In Zhytomyr region, the National Police jointly with the National Police exposed a resident of Korosten who, on the order of the occupiers, massively registered virtual mobile numbers of Ukrainian operators and anonymous telegram accounts.
She sold or leased the activated "accounts" through specialized Internet platforms in Russia. Later, Russian special services used these numbers to hack into the phones of the Ukrainian military.
To do this, they sent phishing emails to the gadgets of the Defense Forces soldiers from anonymous numbers and Internet addresses registered in Ukraine. If the files with malware were opened, a spyware virus was automatically downloaded to the phone, which collected confidential data. The enemy also used anonymous bot farm accounts to spread Kremlin narratives allegedly on behalf of ordinary Ukrainian citizens.
According to the investigation, the suspect set up specialized software right in her own apartment. It was established that the woman registered more than 600 mobile numbers, the money from the sale of which was transferred to her own crypto wallet.
The suspect was served a notice of suspicion under Part 5 Art. 361 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (unauthorized interference with the operation of information and communication systems, electronic communication networks).
Also in Dnipro, a 30-year-old local resident was detained who registered almost 15 thousand fictitious accounts in various social networks and messengers. He used SIM cards of Ukrainian mobile operators for this purpose.
He sold the accounts he created on darknet forums, where his main buyers were representatives of the Russian special services.
The offender is charged with committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 110 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine). Investigations into both facts are ongoing.