SBU detains pro-Russian hackers in Kyiv who created fake accounts of Ukrainian special services' heads

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported the liquidation of bot farms in Kyiv involved in information sabotage in favour of Russian intelligence. Two organisers who massively spread disinformation about the war in Ukraine were detained.

According to the SBU, fake accounts were created on social media and messengers, including on behalf of the SBU Head and the Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.

To create the appearance of "real" pages, these accounts reposted official messages from the SBU and the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.

Fake pages of Ukrainians from different regions were also registered on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tik-Tok, as well as on Russian Odnoklassniki and Vkontakte.

The organisers generated more than a thousand fake accounts daily and managed them using specialised computers installed at home.

The criminals coordinated their actions with representatives of Russian intelligence, from whom they received "manuals" for subversive activities, the SBU said.

The SBU also seized unregistered firearms with ammunition and combat grenades from the detainees.

The detainees face up to 7 years in prison.

Background. As reported, according to the SBU, Russian hackers have been carrying out 4,500 cyberattacks every year since the start of the full-scale invasion. The head of the department, Vityuk, said that specialists have stopped many attempts to penetrate the communication systems of the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence.