Russian state TV channels and streaming services allegedly hacked to broadcast footage of Ukraine war

Anonymous group shows off footage that it says was broadcast on Russian channels

The Anonymous hacker collective claimed on Sunday that it had hacked into Russian state TV and streaming services, including Russia 24, Channel One, Moscow 24, Wink and Ivi, in order to show footage depicting the horrors of the conflict in Ukraine.

Anonymous is presently engaged in a full-fledged cyber war against the Russian government, and has urged its members to destabilise Vladimir Putin's regime in whatever way they can.

The cyber security experts described the latest attack as the biggest Anonymous operation ever witnessed after Russian TV networks Russia 24 and Moscow 24 were hacked to broadcast video from the front lines of the Russian invasion.

In a video shared on Twitter, Anonymous showed some of the footage that was broadcast on the channels. Images of the bombing in Ukraine, following Russian attack in the country were among the content shown.

"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]," the group wrote in their Twitter post.

A message appeared towards the end of the video clip, urging Russians to resist the invasion of Ukraine.

Aside from that, hackers are said to have aired troll faces on Russian military broadcasts while also reportedly jamming Russian airwaves with audio of the Ukrainian national anthem.

Following the events in Ukraine, social media access has been restricted in Russia, with users in the Moscow and Saint Petersburg unable to see images of the military action in Ukraine.

A law enacted Friday by Russia's parliament threatens journalists who dispute the Kremlin's official position on what it terms its "special military operation" with up to 15 years in jail.

The Russian media regulator, Roskomnadzor, has instructed media outlets to only broadcast material that has been supplied by government sources. It has also forbidden media outlets from referring to Russia's unjustified activities as an invasion or a war, arguing that they should instead be referred to as "special military operations."

This is not the first time Anonymous has targeted Russian media outlets.

Websites of the Russian media networks Izvestia, Kommersant, RBC Fontaka and TASS were hacked last month to show pro-Ukraine messages.

Also in February, several Russian government websites, including the official Kremlin site, went down as hacking groups around the world began to punish Russia.

The government's website (government.ru), the State Duma's (Russia's lower house of parliament) website, and the Ministry of Defence's website were all affected just hours after Russian troops invaded Ukraine.

Anonymous claimed responsibility for those hacks.

In a video uploaded on February 27, a masked Anonymous member stated that other retaliations were on the way as a result of Putin's "foolish conduct".

Anonymous also said that it had accessed a Russian military database and published the contents of the database online. Among the information revealed were emails, passwords and telephone numbers.