The groups, calling themselves IT Army of Russia and TwoNet, use the Telegram messaging app to coordinate operations, recruit insiders and collect information about targets in Ukraine, according to a new report by cybersecurity firm Intel 471. Other groups, such as the Cyber Army of Russia Reborn — whose members were sanctioned by the United States last year — have largely disappeared from public view, while one of the most prolific hacktivist collectives, NoName057(16), continues its operations, targeting at least one or two entities each week. The group’s preferred tactic is also DDoS incidents, and its Telegram channel has promoted attacks on government and infrastructure targets in Ukraine, Spain and the U.K., Intel 471 said. Like other well-known Russian hacktivist groups — including NoName057(16), KillNet and XakNet Team — the new gangs are primarily carrying out distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, website defacements and data theft. Most recently, the group posted on its channel what it claimed were leaked databases from several Ukrainian and Polish websites, including a Ukrainian real estate search platform, a makeup retailer, and Poland’s educational platform, Intel 471 said. The IT Army of Russia first appeared in late March 2025 and communicates via the Duty-Free cybercrime forum and a Telegram channel with over 800 subscribers, Intel 471 said. The group posts about alleged attacks on Ukrainian websites, leaks stolen data and recruits insiders working in Ukraine’s critical infrastructure. The group also operates a Telegram bot that encourages users to submit intelligence about Ukraine’s military or infrastructure and to suggest new targets for cyberattacks. In January, TwoNet’s Telegram channel announced the death of one alleged member, nicknamed “Sakura,” reportedly killed during combat in Ukraine. Two new pro-Russian hacktivist groups have emerged in recent months to mount cyberattacks on Ukraine and its allies.
This Cyber News was published on therecord.media. Publication date: Thu, 03 Jul 2025 15:10:13 +0000