• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Ukraine Security Forces Arrest Hacker They Say Was Aiding Russian Troops

Home> News

Published 21:00 15 Mar 2022 GMT

Ukraine Security Forces Arrest Hacker They Say Was Aiding Russian Troops

The Kremlin could be using hackers like this to receive intel after Ukraine blocked access to Russian phone numbers.

Rachel Lang

Rachel Lang

Ukraine's security service has arrested a 'hacker', who they claim was aiding Russian troops who had invaded their western neighbour.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) have alleged the individual was routing phone calls on the troops' behalf because Ukrainian telecoms blocked access to Russian and Belarusian phone numbers.

SSU revealed in a statement that the alleged hacker also sent text messages to Ukrainian security forces suggesting they surrender and side with their Russian occupiers.

Advert

He is also believed to have passed on commands to advanced groups of Russian invaders, using the Ukrainian phone networks to facilitate Russian military communications.

The agency 'detained a hacker who provided the occupiers with mobile communications in Ukraine', the SSU wrote in messages on social media.

“With the help of this collaborator, the enemy: anonymously made phone calls from Russia to the mobile phones of the invaders in Ukraine; sent SMS messages to Ukrainian security officers and civil servants with proposals to surrender and side with the occupiers; passed commands and instructions to advanced groups of Russian invaders,” it added.

The SSU said it has now confiscated the alleged hacker's equipment and that he would be 'held accountable for all the severity of the law'.

Advert

The security agency noted that up to 1,000 calls had been facilitated in one day alone by the alleged hacker, including a large portion of calls which came from the Russian military’s 'top leadership'.

The SSU provided several photos of the man with his face censored, along with his equipment.

Ukrainian officials did not release his name or any other identifying information in their statement.

Analysts expected Russia to knock out Ukraine's telecommunications services, but according to one offical there is one very key reason invaders haven't done so.

Advert

“If [Russian forces] can do localised shutdowns of telecommunications, they’ll do it,” Director of the strategic technologies program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies James Lewis said.

“But in general, they’ll want to keep the phones working in Kyiv because they can listen in.”

CTO at cybersecurity firm AdaptiveMobile Cathal McDaid echoed this sentiment to Vice.

“I think it’s significant, it adds a bit of depth to the question as to why the Ukrainian mobile networks are still up—they still have some utility to Russian forces," she said.

But McDaid did say that the Ukraine's defensive measures have made it harder for Russian troops to communicate effectively.

Advert

Internet services were knocked out when Russia initially invaded neighbouring Ukraine, however tech billionaire Elon Musk saved the day by shipping Starlink terminals to the embattled country.

As Starlink connects via satellite, it is now nearly impossible for Russia to knock out Ukraine's internet access.

If you would like to donate to the Red Cross Emergency Appeal, which will help provide food, medicines and basic medical supplies, shelter and water to those in Ukraine, click here for more information.

Featured Image Credit: Security Service of Ukraine

Topics: Ukraine, Hacks, Technology, Vladimir Putin, Russia, News

Rachel Lang
Rachel Lang

Rachel Lang is a Digital Journalist at LADbible. During her career, she has interviewed Aussie PM Malcolm Turnbull in the lead up to the 2016 federal election, ran an editorial campaign on the war in Yemen, and reported on homelessness in the lead-up to Harry and Meghan’s wedding in Windsor. She also once wrote a yarn on the cheese and wine version of Fyre Festival.

X

@rlangjournalist

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

13 hours ago
14 hours ago
  • 13 hours ago

    There's a worrying reason behind why some people enjoy watching true crime to relax, psychologist warns

    Having a slight obsession with true crime titles could be a sign of some mental health obstacles

    News
  • 13 hours ago

    Meaning behind why people sometimes get small white spots across their bodies

    They can sometimes have serious complications...

    News
  • 14 hours ago

    Moment of death was recorded for first ever time and reveals what our final thoughts could be

    Thinking about what happens when we die is enough to keep most people awake at night

    News
  • 14 hours ago

    Campaigners issue fresh warning over two orcas ‘at risk of death’ after being kept in abandoned theme park

    One of the orcas has spent nearly a quarter of a century in captivity

    News
  • Huge amount Russian volunteers are being paid to sign up and fight for country
  • Top NATO official shares 'concerning' update following Germany's warning about 'very serious' Russia threat
  • Former British Army colonel explains real tactics an 'angry' Putin is likely to use on the West
  • Brits need to 'learn to speak Russian' if Britain doesn't do one thing, says NATO secretary-general