Since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Ukraine and Western countries have also launched an information war against Russia on the Internet. While a large number of Russian media and websites were boycotted and attacked by the West, all kinds of distorted false information was also spread on the Internet, which forced Russia to take a number of countermeasures, including a precision strike on the 72nd Information and Psychological Warfare Center of the Ukrainian Army in Kiev, and the launch of a portal called "Explain.RF" to debunk rumors. According to reports, the websites of large enterprises in many industries in Russia have recently been widely attacked, and media such as Russian Television Today and the Russian Satellite News Agency have also been boycotted by the West.
According to the Russian News Agency reported on March 2, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on the same day that in order to prevent Ukraine's information attack against Russia, the Russian army carried out a precision strike on the technical facilities of the Ukrainian State Security Agency in Kiev and the 72nd Information and Psychological Operation Center of the Ukrainian Army, and the tv tower broadcasting equipment has been basically paralyzed.
The 72nd Information and Psychological Warfare Center, a military unit of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces, is responsible for electronic warfare and psychological warfare missions against the Donbass region and Russia, "spreading most of the disinformation related to Russia's special operations in Ukraine," Russian media said. ”
Screenshot of the Russian news agency report
Konashenkov added that the precision strike did not affect the surrounding residential areas. Russia's "Viewpoint" mentioned that before the start of the attack, the Russian Ministry of Defense has issued an early warning in advance on the 1st, calling on the people in the affected areas to evacuate as soon as possible.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Konashenkov video screenshot
At the same time, the Russian government has also begun to curb the spread of false information within its country and strengthen fact-checking mechanisms. According to the Russian TASS news agency reported on the 1st, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernishchenko announced in a video speech on the same day that the Russian government has officially launched the "Оббъясняем.рф" portal and will release verified and reliable information on the platform.
Chernyshenko said that the website has a number of sections such as rumors, news, questions and answers, and help materials, and will also release corresponding information on hot issues that the Russian people are most concerned about. He added that all departments and agencies of the Russian government will participate in this work, continue to pay attention to the feedback of the Russian people and respond in a timely manner.
"We're seeing a lot of information published on social media and on the web in the current situation. Unfortunately, many of them are disinformation and rumors. The russian government therefore decided to launch this website. "The portal is already operational, and I urge the Russian public and foreign citizens inside the country to pay attention to the information published on the website and not to trust unconfirmed news." ”
Screenshot of a report by Russia's TASS news agency
In addition to the interference of disinformation, Russia has also suffered a large-scale cyber attack. TASS quoted data from cybersecurity company StormWall on the 1st that from February 24 to 28, large enterprises in Russia's energy, finance, telecommunications, manufacturing and other industries have been subjected to different degrees of cyber attacks.
Cyberattacks on Russia, mainly from the United States (28.9 percent) and the European Union (46.7 percent), reached a peak on Feb. 27, according to the company's cybersecurity experts, but are still continuing. Some hacking groups also launched cyberattacks against Russian banks' servers in an attempt to paralyze the network of ATMs in Russia.
Experts said that because some hackers are publishing lists of Russian corporate websites on various social media platforms, encouraging more hackers to participate in cyber attacks on Russia, it is difficult to improve Russia's network security situation in the short term.
Russian media have also been subjected to ongoing cyberattacks in recent days. The Russian Satellite News Agency said on the 3rd that its 30 websites around the world have been continuously subjected to cyber attacks since February 26, which has had a very serious impact on the news released by the company on its website. Russia Today (RT) was also attacked by the international hacking group Anonymous, leaving the news site inaccessible for a time.
The United States and other Western countries are also restricting the spread of Russian media. According to the British Reuters agency reported on the 2nd, the EU's ban on Russia Today and the Russian Satellite News Agency has officially entered into force on the same day. This means that EU operators will be banned from disseminating any content from the two Russian media. Mainstream Western social media or tech companies such as Facebook, Twitter and Google have said they will comply with the EU ban.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Borrell claimed that the two Russian media "manipulated information and spread false information" to "attack Ukraine" and posed a "major threat" to the EU's so-called "public order and security".
For Ukraine and Western countries while spreading false information, but also trying to "cover their mouths" with the Russian media, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zakharova on the 1st accused NATO of playing the role of "behind the scenes": "False information is now flooding cyberspace, and the culprit behind it is the intelligence department. It was a huge confrontation, led and orchestrated by NATO. ”
The Russian Federal Agency for the Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media issued a statement on the 1st, criticizing the relevant social media and companies for sanctioning Russian media in violation of the principles of free dissemination of information and barrier-free access to information, and urging YouTube and other platforms to cancel all imposed sanctions on Russian media.
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