The Russia-Ukraine conflict has found in Telegram the place for disinformation and hacktivism

The Russia-Ukraine conflict does not see a ceasefire soon, and although many countries are repudiating this act, things only seem to get more complicated with each passing day. However, as we explained earlier, part of this war is not only taking place on Ukrainian territory, but also takes place digitally. That is why both parties are using the Telegram messaging service for disinformation and the promotion of hacktivism groups. In this article, we will show more of this growth.

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Telegram has achieved remarkable growth for groups related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict

Telegram has gained momentum in recent years, even managing to catch up with its biggest rival, WhatsApp. But although they offer great services, there are still many detractors of it, added to the fact that Telegram has been under the scrutiny of several scandals worldwide. Under the premise that its encryption service is one of the best, the proliferation of groups and channels, both private and public, has been increasing.

For this reason, groups related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict have been increasingly active. It is correct to say that several really focus on helping both parties on a humanitarian level and, of course, keeping the population informed from reliable sources. Nonetheless, some groups and channels have only been dedicated to misinformation, which is attributed to both sides of the conflict.

Israel-based cybersecurity company Check Point Research shared the following: “User volume grew a hundred folds daily on Telegram related groups, peaking at 200,000 per group.” In this report, they discussed the following:

There are the anti-Russian cyberattack groups, including the Ukraine government-backed IT Army, which has urged its more 270,000 members to conduct distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against Russian entities.
Other hacktivist-oriented Telegram groups used to coordinate the attacks on Russian targets via DDoS, SMS, or call-based attacks are Anna_and Mark_.

One of the most interesting features is that hacktivism groups are focused on showing their support for Ukraine or Russia to grow their reputation instead of attacking or damaging any systems in those countries. Check Point continues to maintain a strong vigilance around the conflict and the different attacks that may arise around the world, which in one way or another may be linked to this war.

In addition to this, it must be taken into account that many scam groups say they are raising funds to support Ukraine when, in reality, they are cybercriminals looking for quick money. Telegram has spoken out in this regard, saying that it is considering totally or partially restricting this class of groups and channels to prevent malicious actors from abusing the platform to “deepen conflicts.” It only remains to wait and see what measures Telegram will take and how the conflict continues to progress. Keep in touch with our blog to read the latest news and innovations in the cybersecurity world.