Anonymous is 'waging war' on Russia: Several broadcasts hacked

The hacker group has been actively targeting Russia in cyberspace since the initial assault on Ukraine began on February 24. 

The hacker group Anonymous hacked Russian streaming services on Sunday, hitting Wink and Ivi, as well as live TV channels Russia 24, Channel One and Moscow 24 to broadcast footage of the war with Ukraine.

Anonymous also posted photos on Twitter showing that, instead of regular broadcasting, a message appeared stating that "ordinary Russians are against the war" and called for Russians to oppose their government's attack on Ukraine.

Anonymous has been actively targeting Russia in cyberspace since the initial assault on Ukraine began on February 24, In the days since, the group has claimed credit for several cyberattacks including DDOS attacks and the complete shutdown of government sites, which brought Russia's media and government sector to a grinding halt on the internet.

From shutting down the Kremlin's official website to Russian "propaganda" news outlets, the group certainly has been busy. However, it is more of an informal collective rather than a unified outfit, making it difficult to attribute the attacks to them fully.

Its targets in the past have included the CIA, the Church of Scientology, and the Islamic State. Widespread arrests of alleged members were made in the US in the 2010s.

The group's loose structure can also drastically change their goals as well as the hackers they attract. While anyone could theoretically use the Anonymous handle, the group appears more organized in the case of the Ukrainian war, and a lot more focused on their own "declaration of war" against Russia.

The Russian-Ukrainian stage has brought to light the importance of cyberspace in the modern battlefield, with several skirmishes hitting both sides as the war continues. Even Elon Musk's Starlink Internet satellite system was hit with disruptions almost as soon as it was implemented in Ukraine.