Hackers from the Ukrainian Military Intelligence Service (HUR) broke into the servers of several Russian television channels and broadcast “objective videos about the war in Ukraine,” a source in the intelligence service told the Kyiv Independent on August 22.
According to the source, HUR footage was shown three times during prime time on the following TV channels: Pervouralsk TV, Eurasia 360, Eurasia Pervyi Kanal and others.
The targeted channels also reportedly included Lugansk 24, Pervyi Respublikanskyi, SpB, Oplot, TV-3 and Pervyi Rosiyskyi. Some of the targeted channels belong to Russian oligarch Andrey Komarov.
According to the source, all nine channels had to stop broadcasting as a result of the hacker attack.
The claims appear to be confirmed by Russian media reports and footage shared on social media.
Pervouralsk TV channel apologized on the social network VKontakte, saying that unnamed attackers “gained access to the live broadcast and published unauthorized video materials that contradict the TV channel’s policy.”
“Our specialists are currently taking all necessary security measures. In this context, broadcasting will be suspended on August 22nd.”
In a video provided by the source, a television image, presumably from a Russian household, shows a clip of Ukrainian soldiers and Russian casualties. A Russian-language voiceover comments on Sudzha – a Russian town in the Ukrainian-occupied Kursk Oblast – and Moscow’s losses.
“As of the morning of August 22, only Eurasia 360 and TV-3 have partially resumed their work, while the broadcast of other channels remains blocked,” the source said.
During the all-out war, cyber attacks were used extensively by both sides.
In early July, HUR claimed responsibility for cyberattacks on nearly 100 Russian websites supporting the Kremlin’s war effort, as well as on a number of Russian banks and financial institutions.
In turn, the Ukrainian Monobank fell victim to a DDoS attack for two days earlier this week.
Cyber attack hits Monobank, Ukraine’s largest direct bank
“Yesterday it subsided at 10:30 p.m. and today it started again at 3:15 a.m. We are approaching the mark of 3 billion service requests in two days,” said Oleh Horokhovskyi, co-owner of the bank, on August 17.
