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22nd Mar 2022

Anonymous hacks printers ‘all across Russia’ to print out anti-propaganda messages

Kieran Galpin

The group had previously leaked state documents

Hacker network Anonymous has attacked Russia once again, this time remotely targeting unprotected printers and using them to print “anti-propaganda.”

Hacktivist collective Anonymous has played a major part in the collaborative effort against Russia, specifically targeting President Vladimir Putin, who invaded Ukraine on February 24. Having previously leaked documents and hacked state television, the group has now given Putin a taste of his own propaganda medicine.

Commenting on their reprised attack via Twitter, they wrote: “We have been printing anti-propaganda and Tor installation instructions to printers all over [Russia] for 2 hours, and printed 100,000+ copies so far. 15 people working on this op as we speak.”

Speaking to International Business Times (IBT), one hacktivist said: “We hacked printers all across Russia and printed this PDF explaining that Putin/Kremlin/Russian media is lying and then we instructed how to install tor and get around their censorship to access real media.”

Tor is an open-source software that allows for anonymous communication.

One Twitter user translated the document into English using Google Lens, which read: “Citizens of Russia, act now to stop terrorist[s]. Putin killing over thousands in Ukraine.” They emphasised that it’s Putin who started the war and that they are being lied to about “borders and fear of the West.”

It also urged Russians to fight for their “heritage and honor, overthrow Putin’s corrupt system that steals from your pocket.”

Earlier this week, Anonymous warned Western companies who are continuing to operate in Russia to pull out or risk facing cyberattacks.

Once again, communicating through Twitter, they wrote: “We call on all companies that continue to operate in Russia by paying taxes to the budget of the Kremlin’s criminal regime: Pull out of Russia! We give you 48 hours to reflect and withdraw from Russia or else you will be under our target! #Anonymous #OpRussia.”

Companies seen in their warning include Subway, Papa John’s, Burger King, Chevron, Oreo, and Mondelez International.

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