Anonymous, an international hacking organization that has carried out cyberattacks on businesses and governments, appeared to declare war on Putin and Russia following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The Twitter account "YourAnonNews", which is followed by 6.5 million users, declared on Thursday that the group of hackers has launched "operations against the Russian Federation."

The collective said it wants "only peace in the world" and a "future for all humanity." Anonymous also want Russians "to understand" that it is aware of the struggles of Russians in expressing sentiments "against their dictator for fear of reprisals." That is why they have embarked on cyber war "entirely directed" at the actions of the Kremlin amid the Russia Ukraine crisis.

Russian Websites Go Down

RT.com, a Russian government-funded news organization, reported it had been attacked in a massive denial-of-service (DDoS) attack., a concerted effort to take down a website by overloading it with traffic.

The attack, according to ABC, slowed down certain websites while taking others offline for long periods.

The majority of RT.com's coverage of the Ukraine crisis has been pro-Russian, with fireworks and joyous celebrations in the recently captured territory.

#Anonymous is currently involved in operations against the Russian Federation. Our operations are targeting the Russian government. There is an inevitability that the private sector will most likely be affected too. While this account cannot claim to speak for the whole (con)

— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) February 24, 2022

On Thursday, the Kremlin and the State Duma lower house of parliament's websites were both periodically offline, possibly due to DDoS attacks.

Anonymous is a decentralized organization of activists and hacktivists worldwide known to attack many issues. In the past, it has launched online attacks on the Church of Scientology, CIA, and Islamic State.

As Russian forces move closer to Ukraine, several websites of the Ukrainian government suffered from DDoS attacks
Fox recently reported that the United States government is preparing for possible cyberattacks on a financial institution.

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Ukraine Calls on Volunteer Hackers For Help

The Ukrainian government is seeking the help of volunteers from the hacker underground in the country in protecting important infrastructure. It also encourages hackers to conduct cyber spying on Russian troops according to a report by Reuters.

"Ukrainian cybercommunity! It's time to get involved in the cyber defense of our country," the post read. It was asking hackers and cybersecurity specialists to apply via Google docs and specifying their specialties, such as malware development, and professional references.

A co-founder of a cybersecurity company in Ukraine involved with Ukraine's government measures on defending significant infrastructure said that the post was requested by a senior Defense Ministry official.

Yegor Aushev of Cyber Unit Technologies said the defense official contacted him to write the post. However, Ukraine Defense Ministry representatives has not provided any comments on the matter yet.

Aushev said that hundreds have already submitted their application and will begin the screening process soon to make sure that Russian agents will not infiltrate the digital endeavor.

According to specialists at the cybersecurity corporation ESET, a newly discovered piece of damaging software was circulating in Ukraine, damaging hundreds of computers. Suspicion fell on Russia, which has been accused of hacking Ukraine and other countries on several occasions.

In modern warfare, per Business Insider, cyberattacks are among the strategies being used by some countries and organizations, capable of breaking down an industrial infrastructure of a nation.

Related Article: Vladimir Putin Issues Chilling Warning That the EU, US Is Next After Kyiv Was Left Defenseless, Begging for Assistance