The “hacktivist” group known as Anonymous claimed on Monday to have hacked and leaked more than 700GB of Russian government data. The hackers also claimed they breached the emails and data of Aerogas, a Russian state-backed oil and gas company.
“BREAKING: Over 700GB of Russian government data leaked. This data includes more than 200,000 emails from the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation,” an Anonymous-linked account Twitter account wrote.
Anonymous published the files on DDoSecrets, according to the U.S. Sun. The website states that the data includes “230,000 emails from the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation / Министерство культуры Российской Федерации, which is responsible for state policy regarding art, cinematography, archives, copyright, cultural heritage, and censorship.”
The website also features a warning that states: This dataset was released in the buildup to, in the midst of, or in the aftermath of a cyberwar or hybrid war. Therefore, there is an increased chance of malware, ulterior motives and altered or implanted data, or false flags/fake personas. As a result, we encourage readers, researchers and journalists to take additional care with the data. This is a standard disclaimer that will be added to all datasets in the Cyberwar category, even absent specific suspicions. Any specific concerns will be added and noted below.
The website’s slogan – Veritatem cognoscere ruat cælum et pereat mundus – translated from Latin means, “Know the truth, though the heavens may fall and the world burn.”
The leaks are available for download.
On Tuesday, another Twitter account associated with Anonymous claimed the group has released over 3 million Russian emails since late February.
“#OpRussia: Since declaring ‘cyber war’ on Kremlin’s criminal regime, #Anonymous has released over 3 million Russian emails via #DDoSecrets – over 2.25 million of them from the Russian government. #OpKremlin#FreeUkraine,” Anonymous TV tweeted.
Last month, Anonymous also claimed it hacked into Russian state television and played video of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as anti-war messaging.
“The hacking collective #Anonymous hacked into the Russian streaming services Wink and Ivi (like Netflix) and live TV channels Russia 24, Channel One, Moscow 24 to broadcast war footage from Ukraine [today],” Anonymous tweeted.
Earlier this year, the group declared war against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Anonymous VS Vladimir Putin,” the group tweeted. “This is a war Putin cannot win.”
Anonymous reiterated in a separate tweet that the group was not at war with Russia, but rather Putin himself for his “war of aggression” against Ukraine.
“No. Anonymous is not at war with Russia. We are at war with Putin. The Russian people do not support Putin’s war of aggression against the Ukrainian people. Be wary of accounts posting false statements who are not even involved in actions against Putin,” the group tweeted on Feb. 26.
