Anonymous, a hacking collective, is said to have released a substantial amount of data allegedly belonging to the Bank of Russia. The announcement comes after the group claimed earlier this week that it had hacked Russia’s central bank, a claim disputed by Moscow’s monetary authorities.
A group, known as @Thblckrbbtworld (The Black Rabbit World), affiliated with the international hacktivist collective has announced the leak of 28GB of data obtained from the Central Bank of Russia (CBR).
Meanwhile, @YourAnonTV (Anonymous TV), another Twitter account associated with the hackers, confirmed the news.
Last week, Anonymous announced that it had hacked the CBR and promised to release over 35,000 files within 48 hours. They contain, among other things, some of the regulator’s “secret agreements”. But the Bank of Russia said that none of its information systems had been compromised.
Anonymous’ latest move comes after the group declared a cyberwar on Russia for its decision to invade Ukraine. The group threatened to disrupt Russia’s internet and targeted the Kremlin, State Duma, and Defense Ministry websites, as well as state-run television channels such as Russia Today (RT) and some streaming platforms.
The CBR’s documents have been distributed to various online points, according to the tweet by The Black Rabbit World, who added that if the ones it provided are censored, it will share them through different links.
Some reports also claimed that the stolen files contain hundreds of audit reports as well as information on bank owners.
Russia’s central bank is in charge of safeguarding and protecting the Russian currency, the value of which has plummeted due to the country’s numerous international sanctions. The Russian rouble had fallen by up to 30% at the start of this month, with inflation reaching 20%.
The breach comes as speculation about the future of central bank chief Elvira Nabiullina has heated up in recent days. Apparently, she was photographed looking depressed during a Kremlin meeting and later posted a cryptic video in which she admitted the Russian economy was in ‘extreme’ condition and stated, “We all wish this had not occurred”.
Russia and Ukraine have clashed in cyberspace in addition to their military conflict on the ground. A number of Ukrainian websites were reportedly attacked by hackers supporting Moscow just before Russian troops crossed the border in late February.
The Ukrainian government has allegedly been recruiting experts for its cyber force who have been involved in both defensive and offensive operations.
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