Ukraine has successfully launched a cyber offensive against Moscow, breaching Russian military bases, air defense installations, and a weapons arsenal.
The information was shared by Kyiv’s military intelligence agency amid intensified battles with invading forces ahead of the second anniversary of the conflict.
According to the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (GUR), a Ukrainian group of hackers called “Blackjack” stole classified construction plans for over 500 Russian military sites.
It also obtained detailed maps of Moscow’s military headquarters across Russia and Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine.
The group reportedly mined 1.2 terabytes of classified data about the Russian military.
All information obtained had already been transferred to the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine for further analysis, the GUR noted.
Encrypting Computers
To collect sensitive data, Blackjack targeted a Russian state enterprise overseeing construction contracts for Moscow’s defense ministry.
The GUR reported that the group took down seven servers and encrypted more than 150 computers used by the enterprise’s employees.
Additionally, the Ukrainian hackers deleted data including backup copies of information, temporarily paralyzing the construction of new Russian military installations.
“We express our gratitude to the members of the powerful Blackjack cyber community, who again deftly beat the Russians and significantly strengthened Ukraine’s defense capabilities,” the GUR wrote on Telegram.
Increased Cyber Activities
Cyber warfare has been a major feature in Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine.
In August 2022, Ukraine’s nuclear operator Energoatom reported an unprecedented cyberattack on its website coming from Russian territory.
Google also announced last year that Russian hackers were responsible for a 2022 attack that disabled power grids in Ukraine.
Because of the widespread cyber offensive carried out by Moscow, Kyiv has bolstered its cyber defense capabilities, highlighted by the opening of a new cyber defense training facility with support from Estonia.
