Vlad’s ‘graceful’ yacht is on its way to ‘hell’
Anonymous has once again targetted Vladimir Putin, this time renaming his yacht “FCKPTN” by altering maritime tracking data.
After declaring cyberwar against the Russian president last week, an offshoot of the hacktivist group has messed with Putin’s pleasure craft, reports the Independent. The £73 million vessel, named “graceful” by the president, comes equipped with an indoor pool, spa, dancefloor, gym, bar, and a helideck.
But despite all the fancy furnishings, the ship could not escape Anonymous.
The group is said to have hacked the “Automatic Identification System” all ships have been required to use since 2004.
Anonymous initially posted the ship’s location as if it had crashed into Snake Island- which hit the headlines after Ukrainian soldiers told a Russian warship to “go f**k yourself.”
RUSSIAN SUPERYACHT: GO FUCK YOURSELF! #Anonymous #OpRussia #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/wsNlrzjHMm
— Anonleaks📡 (@Theanonleaks) February 27, 2022
Following their first attack, the group posted the ship’s location to “anonymous”, then “anonleaks”, and finally sent it to “hell.”
The hackers, who use a German Twitter account, have spoken publically about their motivations. According to Bloomberg, they wanted to put the yacht in the eyesight of sanctioning nations while also putting “a little smile on some faces for a short period in these dark times.”
Putin reportedly has a $97 million luxury yacht called "Graceful". A group of Anonymous hackers on Saturday figured out a way to mess with maritime traffic data & made it look like the yacht had crashed into Ukraine's Snake Island, then changed its destination to "hell": pic.twitter.com/Ch53lcG7D6
— Ryan Gallagher (@rj_gallagher) February 27, 2022
A German blog post made Sunday by the group said that there had also been attacks against Russia’s banks and services, the website of the president of the Russian Federation, Russia’s Ministry of Defence, and Roskomnadzor.
However, the hackers emphasised that it was “not an operation against the people of Russia. It’s not even one against Russian soldiers. The operation targets Putin and the Putin-controlled state apparatus, state-owned companies, the state-controlled media, and individuals and private companies that have benefited from Putin’s autocratic system for decades.”
They added: “It is also directed against groups and media that carry Putin’s gaslighting abroad. Putin, who is using hacker squads and troll armies against Western democracies, is getting a sip of his own bitter medicine.”
Related links:
- Ukrainian brewery is now making beer that’s easy to turn into Molotov cocktails
- Ukraine border guards who told Russian warship ‘go f*** yourself’ might be alive
- Astonishing video shows hundreds of Ukrainians force Russian tanks to stop by walking at them
