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Cyber Partisans

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Cyber Partisans
Кіберпартызаны
FormationSeptember 2020
Typeanonymous activist/hacktivistcollective
Purpose
Region served
Belarus
Websitet.me/cpartisans

Cyber Partisans(Belarusian:кіберпартызаны,romanized:kiberpartyzany,Russian:киберпартизаны,romanized:kiberpartizany) is a Belarusiandecentralizedanonymous activist/hacktivistcollectiveemerged in September 2020, known for its variouscyber attacksagainst theauthoritarianBelarusian government.The group is part of the broaderBelarusian oppositionmovement.

Membership and aims[edit]

Cyber Partisans consists of a group of BelarusianITworkers wholive abroad.[1]In an August 2021 interview to Bloomberg, hackers shared some details about themselves: they are 15 people, none of whom are professional hackers; of them, only 3 or 4 perform the hacks, others deal with the analysis of obtained data; and some group members werepenetration testersbefore joining the group.[2][3]Members are anonymous even to each other.[4]The group describes its activities asethical hacking,as it goes only against the state and do not harm to ordinary citizens.[2][3][5]In late January 2022, the group reportedly consisted of some 30 people.[5]Its spokesperson, Yuliana Shemetovets, is based inNew York.[6][7]

An anonymous spokesperson for the group told in an interview toMIT Technology Review:"What we want is to stop the violence and repression from the terroristic regime in Belarus and to bring the country back to democratic principles andrule of law."[3]In 2021 and 2022, the group affirmed that it was not collaborating with any foreign government, but "we are not against it, as long as it aligns with our depicted goals, to change the regime."[6]

History and actions[edit]

The Cyber Partisans originated in September 2020 after the2020 Belarusian presidential electionandsubsequent protestsagainst its falsification byAlexander Lukashenko.The protests were brutally suppressed by the government's police and security forces.[8][2]

Initially, actions by the group were symbolic: group members hacked state news websites (All-National TV,Belarus-1) and streamed videos showing scenes of police brutality, and inserted the names of Lukashenko and theminister of Internal Affairs,Yury Karayeu,to a policemost wanted list.[9]The group also hacked government websites to add thewhite-red-white flag,which is favored by the Belarusian dissidents, over theofficial red and green flag of the country.[8][2]

Cyber Partisans work together with theBYPOLgroup, which consists of former Belarusian police officers working against Lukashenko's government. Their knowledge of database structure helps to plan and execute the Partisans' moves.[8][2]

In July 2021, Cyber Partisans hacked the Ministry of Internal Affairs' most sensitive databases. The group obtained a large volume of material, includes the archive of almost 2 million minutes of secretly recorded phone conversation audio; lists of alleged police informants; personal information about top government officials; and video footage gathered from police drones and detention centers. The group also obtained the databases forpassports,all registered motor vehicles, recordings from the cameras in theOkrestinaprison's isolation cells, and mortality statistics. The group shared these data with the journalists who calculated theexcess mortalityduring theCOVID-19 pandemic in Belarus.They concluded that from March 2020 to March 2021, this figure was 32,000 people, 14.4 times more than the authorities reported.[10][8]The group published passport data of Lukashenko and his sons to prove that they really hacked that database. The authenticity of the data was also demonstrated by data on journalists fromCurrent Time TV,which the Partisans provided to Current Time at the outlet's request to prove the veracity of the leak.[10]

During the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine,Cyber Partisans was one of three main Belarusian dissident groups that worked to stymie theBelarusian involvement in the Russian invasion,specifically by targeting railroad supply lines. (The other groups were Belarusian railway workers and defectors from the government's security forces).[1]Cyber Partisans launched the first attack on the railway's systemsin late January 2022, in the days immediately before the invasionslowing the movement of Russian troops before they had crossed the border.[1]The group said that it had penetrated theBelarusian Railway's network system the previous month, in December 2021.[6]A spokesperson for Cyber Partisans said that the railway company's system was vulnerable and ran on an outdatedWindows XPoperating system.[1]The group used a modified form ofransomwareto paralyze the railway system, saying that it would return to computer network to normal if the Belarusian government released 50political prisonersin need of medical treatment and stopped Russian forces from entering Belarus.[1][5]Partisans hacked and encrypted internal databases of the railway.[4]The group targetedfreight railto disrupt Russian military movements and cargo bound for China; the group said that it deliberately avoided affectingpassenger rail.[6]

The group also obtained access to a database of all border crossing records. To prove it, one of the group members provided aGuardianjournalist "a full list of his travel records to Belarus going back to 2016".[4]Cyber Partisans provided the border entry and exit data to theinvestigative journalismgroupBellingcat.[6]

In February 2023 the group revealed that they hackedRoscomnadzor,Russian internet censorship agency. Attack disrupted internal network of the organization, hackers obtained between 1.2 and 2 Terabytes of data including 1.5 million emails and 200 thousand of internal documents. Cyber Partisans gave the data to journalists, includingMediazonaandSüddeutsche Zeitung.[11][12]

In July 2023, the group claimed that they attacked theBelarusian State University(BSU) and got 3 terabytes of data, encrypted and wiped the university's servers. BSU officials denied the fact of attack, though their website was down for several days. The reason of the attack was explained in a tweet:[13]

We started working on this attack 2 months ago after BSU posted a video with a student who was humiliated & forced to apologize. Since 2020 many students were detained and staff let go for political positions

According to Yuliana Shametavets on 26 April 2024, Cyberpartisans stated on their website that they had penetrated the Belarus KGB computer network in fall 2023 accessing the files of 8,600 Belarus KGB employees and that, beginning in February 2024, Cyber Partisans had suppressed the Belarus KGB computer network for at least two months and that this "was a response" to the Belarus KGB chiefIvan Tertelbecause "The KGB is carrying out the largest political repressions in the history of the country and must answer for it" and added that "We work to save the lives of Belarusians, and not to destroy them, like the repressive Belarusian special services do."[14][15][16][17][18]

Response from Lukashenko regime[edit]

In a speech on state TV in July 2021, head of theBelarusian KGBIvan Tertel blamed "foreign special services" for cyberattacks on government targets.[2]

In 2021, the Belarusian government (through the Belarusian Supreme Court and Ministry of Internal Affairs) declared the information resources Cyber-Partizans, its subsidiary project Cyber-Leaks, and all theirTelegram channelsto be an "extremist" group and a terrorist organization.[19][20]Creating or participating in such a group is a crime in Belarus.[21]

Reactions and analysis[edit]

AnthropologistGabriella Coleman,a professor atMcGill Universityand an expert on hacktivism and theAnonymous,commented to Bloomberg: “I don't think there are a lot of parallels to this, that they are so sophisticated and are attacking on multiple levels, it’s not something I’ve seen before except in the movies.”[2]

According to associate professor Tetyana Lokot ofDublin City University,who specializes in protest and digital rights issues in Eastern Europe, “If ever Lukashenko ends up facing prosecution in theInternational Criminal Court,for example, these records are going to be incredibly important.”[2]

The group has been praised by theBelarusian opposition,includingFranak Viačorka,a senior adviser to exiled opposition leaderSviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.[5]Andrei Sannikov,a former Belarusian diplomat and a candidate at the2010 presidential election in Belarus,in an interview toMIT Technology Reviewsaid that "They’re making the regime’s crimes transparent. The information they’re getting by hacking the state really is very eloquent in witnessing the criminal activities of the regime against the citizens."[3]

The group was the subject of theBBCRadio 4seriesDigital Humanepisode that aired in March 2022.[22]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcdeLiz Sly,The Belarusian railway workers who helped thwart Russia's attack on Kyiv,Washington Post(April 23, 2022).
  2. ^abcdefghGallagher, Ryan (August 24, 2021)."Hackers Release Data Trove From Belarus in Bid to Overthrow Lukashenko Regime".Bloomberg.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-10-31.Retrieved29 August2021.
  3. ^abcdHowell O'Neill, Patrick (August 26, 2021)."Hackers are trying to topple Belarus's dictator, with help from the inside".MIT Technology Review.Archivedfrom the original on 23 October 2021.Retrieved29 August2021.
  4. ^abcAndrew Roth (January 25, 2022)."'Cyberpartisans' hack Belarusian railway to disrupt Russian buildup ".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on April 24, 2022.RetrievedApril 24,2022.
  5. ^abcdRyan Gallagher,'Cyber Partisans' Say They Hacked Belarus Rail to Disrupt Russian TroopsArchived2022-04-24 at theWayback Machine,Bloomberg (January 24, 2022).
  6. ^abcde Frank Bajak,Belarus hacktivists target railway in anti-Russia effortArchived2022-04-24 at theWayback Machine,Associated Press (January 24, 2022).
  7. ^How I became the spokesperson for a secretive Belarusian 'hacktivist' groupArchived2022-05-13 at theWayback Machine,TRT WorldMagazine(February 10, 2022).
  8. ^abcdКорелина, Ольга (August 27, 2021)."Белорусские" Киберпартизаны ", кажется, взломали базы данных МВД и уже месяц публикуют компрометирующую силовиков информацию".Meduza.Archivedfrom the original on 18 November 2021.Retrieved29 August2021.
  9. ^"Сайт МВД Беларуси взломали — и добавили Лукашенко в список разыскиваемых".Meduza. September 4, 2020.Archivedfrom the original on 18 November 2021.Retrieved29 August2021.
  10. ^abСошников, Андрей (July 20, 2021)."Противостоящие Лукашенко" Киберпартизаны "получили паспортные данные и фото ВСЕХ белорусов. Фактчек Настоящего Времени и интервью с хакерами".Current Time TV.Archivedfrom the original on 1 December 2021.Retrieved29 August2021.
  11. ^"Нейроскомнадзор. Чем пользуется РКН, чтобы следить за интернетом — и кто ему в этом помогает".Медиазона.
  12. ^"Архитектура российской цензуры: что мы узнали из крупнейшей утечки в истории Роскомнадзора".BBC News Русская служба.February 9, 2023.
  13. ^"Belarusian hacktivists сlaim to breach country's leading state university".therecord.media.Retrieved29 August2023.
  14. ^Karmanau, Yuras (26 April 2024)."Hackers claim to have infiltrated Belarus' main security service".Associated Press.Archived fromthe originalon 27 April 2024.Retrieved29 April2024.
  15. ^RFE/RL's Belarus Service (26 April 2024)."Hacker Group Claims It Penetrated Belarusian KGB Network".Radio Free Europe.Archived fromthe originalon 29 April 2024.Retrieved29 April2024.
  16. ^Naprys, Ernestas (29 April 2024)."Belarusian KGB allegedly breached, hackers dox over 8600 agents: Cyber Partisans, a Belarusian group of hacktivists, have claimed that they infiltrated the KGB, the state's secret service. They shared data on more than 8600 KGB agents and also started to reveal the alleged KGB informants in other countries".cybernews.com.Archived fromthe originalon 29 April 2024.Retrieved29 April2024.
  17. ^Paranjape, Purva (27 April 2024)."Cyber Partisans Unleash Digital Retaliation Against Belarusian KGB".msn.com.Archived fromthe originalon 29 April 2024.Retrieved29 April2024.
  18. ^Paganini, Pierluigi (29 April 2024)."CYBER-PARTISANS HACKTIVISTS CLAIM TO HAVE BREACHED BELARUS KGB: A Belarusian group of activist group claims to have infiltrated the network of the country's main KGB agency".securityaffairs.com.Archived fromthe originalon 29 April 2024.Retrieved29 April2024.
  19. ^"МВД признало" экстремистским формированием "телеграм‑канал и чат" Кибер‑Партизан "".MediaZona(in Russian). 2021-10-21.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-01-11.Retrieved2022-01-11.
  20. ^"Верховный суд признал террористами" Киберпартизан "и еще несколько инициатив".Nasha Niva(in Russian). 2021-11-30.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-01-11.Retrieved2022-01-11.
  21. ^"BAJ demands to stop using anti-extremist legislation to restrict freedom of speech".Belarusian Association of Journalists.17 November 2021.Archivedfrom the original on 22 December 2021.Retrieved22 December2021.
  22. ^"Partisan".BBC. March 14, 2022.Archivedfrom the original on 15 March 2022.Retrieved15 March2022.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cyber_Partisans&oldid=1231961762"