Ukraine is assembling an “IT army” to hack websites from Russia and its allies, urging technology leaders to get involved, according to a report by TechCrunch.
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“We are creating an IT army. We need digital talents,” tweeted Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Digital Transformation.
“There will be tasks for everyone. We continue to fight on the cyber front. The first task is on the channel for cyber specialists.”
He has even put up the link on Twitter where all operational tasks will be given.
The “IT Army of Ukraine“ already has around 184,000 users on its main Telegram channel, which is being used to name specific projects and call-outs for help to shut down Russian sites, Russian agents and those working in concert with the country, and to mobilise those living in Ukraine around work they can do, TechCrunch reported.
It seems to be making some progress. A call out on the channel to shut down the API for Sberbank, one of Russia’s major banks, earlier today appears to have come into play, with the site currently offline, TechCrunch said.
Cyberattacks have hit Russian governmental services portal, Kremlin, Parliament, First Channel, Aerospace, Railroad websites on February 26, TechCrunch noted.
Fedorov had earlier requested Elon Musk to extend Starlink access to Ukraine to give users a data backup after which SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband service was activated in Ukraine.
Facebook has restricted Russian state media from running ads or monetising on their platform.
