Anonymous ‘leaks nearly a MILLION Russian state media emails’

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Hackers affiliated with Anonymous have claimed to have leaked more than 900,000 emails spanning 20 years from Russia's largest state media corporation. 

Network Battalion 65 or NB65, leaked the 786.2 GB email cache from the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK) with Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets).

DDoSecrets co-founder Emma Best said the leak was 'an unprecedented exposure of state-owned media and propaganda which the Russian government considers essential to the state security. ' 

It is the latest in a string of hacks the group have claimed since then including taking down Russian state news agencies TASS, Fontanka, Kommersant, Kremlin-backed channel RT and the Kremlin website, on February 28. 

On Sunday, the group claimed to have leaked the personal data - dates of birth, names, home addresses and passport numbers - of 120,000 Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine. 

Following the release, the collective announced that 'all soldiers participating in the invasion of Ukraine should be subjected to a war crime tribunal.' 

Anonymous declared 'cyber war against the Russian government' days after President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine began on February 24.  

Hackers affiliated with Anonymous have claimed to have leaked more than 900,000 emails spanning 20 years from Russia's largest state media corporation (file image) 

The statement comes after the group's other attacks on Russian state-controlled media and government websites

Alongside the 900,000 leaked emails, there were 4,00 files, mostly media assets and clips, taken from the broadcasting company's cloud service.   

VGTRK is Russia's largest state media corporation with five national television stations, two international networks, five radio stations, and over 80 regional TV and radio networks.  

It also runs the information agency Rossiya Segodnya which operates the news agency Sputnik.

A recorded message was sent to President Vladimir Putin featuring videos and images of the invasion from news outlets in the background days after the war began.

In the footage, a spokesperson said:  'This is a message to Vladimir Putin, from Anonymous. Mr Putin. The ongoing invasion of Ukraine has shown that your regime has no respect for human rights or the self determination of your neighbours.' 

Anonymous called Putin the 'instigator' of violence, referring to the killing of innocent people.

They added: 'Members of Anonymous have declared cyber war against your aggressive regime [...] soon you will feel the full wrath of the world's hackers.' 

The group also alleged on 31 March that it had hacked 62,000 emails from the Marathon Group, a Russian investment firm owned by Alexander Vinokurov, currently under EU sanctions.   

Anonymous said that details from the emails were put on DDoSecrets. The site also published a large amount of emails from the Russian law firm Capital Legal Services which practices law in a variety of areas.

She had made the post about the 200,000 emails while 'awaiting confirmation of attribution to a specific member of Anonymous.'  

 

The group also announced that they had taken down the website of the Kremlin-backed TV channel RT, which broadcasts in Britain and has been heavily criticised for its coverage

Ukrainian servicemen inspect the wreckage of houses, cars and Russian military vehicles in the town of Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, yesterday

Zelensky accused the West of holding back on supplies because of 'intimidation' from Moscow and suggested Russia is in charge of NATO 

A car is seen riddled with bullet holes on the street on April 5, 2022 in Bucha, Ukraine. Milley said the war in Ukraine could last for years

Anonymous also retweeted one of Best's posts which said DDoSecrets published around 57,500 emails from the Russian Orthodox Church's charitable wing.

The hacking collective did not confirm whether it was responsible but said the 'hacking will continue until Russia stops their aggression.'  

Meanwhile on February 28, Anonymous hackers attacked several Kremlin-backed media outlets, posting a message on one that urged Russia to 'stop this madness'. 

When trying to access TASS, Fontanka, and Kommersant's websites on Monday morning, error messages appeared and the websites were unable to load. 

When MailOnline tried to access Fontanka, a news outlet based in St Petersburg, on Monday morning, a message signed by Anonymous urged citizens to 'stop this madness' and said Vladimir Putin has 'put us in danger'. 

All the sites appeared to be were back online by early on March 1. Moscow has been accused of producing Hollywood-style 'fake news' videos to inflame tensions with Ukraine. 

Misinformation about the conflict includes the notion that Ukrainian soldiers are 'radical nationalists' who are defending a genocide against Russians.

A similar error message appeared when trying to access TASS's website on Monday morning 

When MailOnline attempted to access Kommersant's website on Monday morning, a message appeared saying 'the site can't be reached' 

When trying to access Fontanka, a message reads: 'Dear citizens. We urge you to stop this madness, do not send your sons and husbands to certain death'

The Google-owned video platform said the ban on Russia Today and Sputnik was effective immediately, including in the UK, but said it may take some time for the block to become fully effective